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1. Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin has done a tremendous job. How so? The Vols can actually be the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament. How? If Tennessee beats Vanderbilt in Knoxville and Florida loses to Kentucky -- both very plausible -- then UT would be the 2-seed, winning a three-way tie at 10-6 with Florida and Vanderbilt or a four-way tie with those two and Alabama if the Tide win at Ole Miss. That’s how important the sweep of the Gators is to Tennessee. What’s amazing is that the Vols would be leapfrogged for an NCAA bid by Vandy, Florida and Alabama.

2. Northwestern has had so many chances to make the NCAAs over the past three seasons. But nothing compares to Wednesday night. In what could have been the most important regular-season game in Northwestern history, the Wildcats were within seconds of forcing overtime against No. 11 Ohio State before Jared Sullinger brought a purple rain of tears from the Wildcats fan base. Northwestern isn't dead yet, since there are opportunities against Iowa on the road and in the Big Ten tournament. But the heartbreak of the Wildcats fans must be Red Sox-Cubs like. There is no curse but it sure feels like there is one.

3. Purdue clobbered visiting Penn State on Wednesday night and it looked like no one left Mackey Arena. Why? The fans wanted to celebrate the career of Robbie Hummel. It was great theater. Hummel has had a tremendous college career, coming back from two ACL injuries. He has been the consummate team player. It’s such a shame he never got a chance to play with JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore last season when the Boilermakers could have made the Final Four. Bravo on a great career.

Editor’s Note: To see our expert picks for each of the nation’s 12 top conferences, click here. To cast your vote in these races, visit SportsNation.

A quick assessment of the player and coach of the year races in the SEC:

Player of the year

No player in the SEC has altered the outcome of games more than Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis. Opposing coaches have to worry about him blocking, altering and affecting shots before they’ve even been attempted.

He is now scoring facing the basket as well as on the offensive backboard, on the break or on an alley-oop. He had his most complete performance against Vanderbilt last weekend with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Davis was seen as a huge get for John Calipari last spring because of his ability to dominate the defensive end. But his evolution as an offensive threat has made him a complete player, Kentucky a national title contender and Davis the SEC player of the year -- and possibly the national player of the year as he tussles with Thomas Robinson of Kansas.

If there was a No. 2 in the SEC race, then it might be Davis’ teammate in Lexington, fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Vanderbilt's Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins have put up great numbers, but haven't always been great in the biggest games as the Commodores vacillated between a true contender and a team that is a notch below the Wildcats.

Coach of the year

You could make a case for Tennessee's Cuonzo Martin or maybe LSU’s Trent Johnson if either of those schools finishes in the top four, which is still plausible here in the final week of the regular season. Both of those programs were picked to finish in the bottom third of the league and both coaches have done outstanding jobs surviving rough stretches of play.

But really, there is no other choice than John Calipari. Kentucky’s dominance in the SEC has been as impressive as the sport has seen in a power-six conference this season. For the third straight season, Calipari has taken a team led by freshmen and risen to the top of the league.

Calipari has managed sophomore Terrence Jones well and found a way to work around a still-developing Marquis Teague at the point. Davis has continued to become a complete player by being a much more offensive presence to match his dominance on the back line. Kidd-Gilchrist has been the most impressive offensive player with the Cats and their hardest worker. Doron Lamb, Darius Miller and Kyle Wiltjer have all had their moments.

Calipari has blended each one of them and used them effectively. The road woes of a year ago are no more. This may not be his most talented team at Kentucky (the first one still holds that distinction), but it clearly is his best shot at winning a national title.

Kentucky obviously has the most talent of any team in the SEC, but Calipari still had to manage it and win consistently. He’s done that without a hiccup. He’s the SEC Coach of the Year.

This Saturday promised one of the best wall-to-wall slates of college hoops fixtures thus far this season, and the afternoon action didn't disappoint. In fact, it just about blew my mind. Let's take a comprehensive look at what we learned from said afternoon action, shall we? (Check back late tonight for a recap of the evening action.)

Florida State 76, No. 4 Duke 73
What we learned: How cool is Leonard Hamilton? Bad charge call? He just smiles. Another bad, potentially crucial, game-deciding charge call? A smile and a wink. A buzzer-beating 3 to upset No. 4 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium -- the same 3 that sent FSU's bench into a joyous on-court scrum? A quick nod. A walk to midcourt. A handshake. No big deal, right?

Hamilton isn't the celebratory type; he's as steady a presence as there is in college hoops. But what his team did Saturday -- just a week after it blew the doors off against North Carolina at home -- was worth much more than the cucumber-cool reaction Hamilton offered. This was a massive, season-changing win for the Florida State Seminoles.

There were plenty of opportunities to fade away. Midway through the second half, Ryan Kelly hit two 3s and a fast-break dunk to extend Duke's lead to 58-50, its widest margin of the afternoon. The crowd was rocking. FSU's shots weren't falling. It appeared Duke would do what Duke does: Gather itself, extend a lead, and ride out another ho-hum ACC home victory. Instead, the Seminoles kept battling. Within a minute, they had closed the eight-point lead to just five, and by the time the game reached its crucial moments -- the final minute -- FSU pulled just ahead at 71-70.

Things stayed tight all the way through. Kelly received the benefit of the doubt on a pretty clear charge with 20 seconds left and Duke guard Austin Rivers made a great move to the rim to tie the game at 73 with just 6 seconds remaining. But FSU guard Luke Loucks, calm as his head coach, advanced the ball to guard Michael Snaer in time for Snaer's buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 just a few feet in front of the visitors bench. That's when the ecstasy, apparently shared by all but Hamilton, commenced.

So what did we learn? We learned that the Noles are indeed very real. Are they as good as their 33-point blowout over UNC? Of course not. But they're good enough -- strong enough, defensive enough, big enough, tough enough -- to present matchup problems for some of the best teams in the country, even on those teams' home floors. Before the season, we thought Florida State was the third-best team in the ACC. After losses to Harvard and Princeton and a wipeout at Clemson, that projection looked wildly optimistic. Now, it almost feels cautious. If the Seminoles play like this the rest of the way, they're definitely better than that.

No. 5 Missouri 89, No. 3 Baylor 88
What we learned: This one-point deficit was reached thanks to a meaningless last-second 3 from Baylor's Brady Heslip, and so the score line belies the real takeaway from this Tigers road win: Missouri is no illusion. No. This team is just flat good.

Can any other conclusion be reached? Consider the accomplishment here: The Tigers went on the road against the No. 3 team in the country, one with as much size and athletic interior talent as any of the nation's contenders -- a quality supposedly anathema to Mizzou's very essence -- and scored 1.24 points per possession in a win that required a first-half battle, a second-half push and a late survival of an inevitable Baylor run. The Tigers are simply relentless on the offensive end, attacking the tiniest of defensive gaps with more speed than any other backcourt in the country.

If you were wondering why Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe is so handily dominating competition this season -- leading the nation in field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage by a huge margin to date -- you received your answer today. Ratliffe cuts and spaces in the middle of the paint as well as any forward in the country. He's a tireless, opportunistic offensive rebounder with great hands and lightning-quick feet. And more often than not, Missouri's guards -- particularly Phil Pressey, who was brilliant in Waco -- break down the defense, ruin its rotation and find Ratliffe for easy finishes around the rim. His line Saturday, against all that long, NBA-worthy Baylor talent: 27 points on 11-of-14 from the field (see?), 8 rebounds (6 offensive) and 2 blocks. He was, per the usual, brilliant. Meanwhile, Pressey finished with 18 points and 7 assists, 6 steals and 5 rebounds. Can't understate his total impact on the game.

There are concerns for Baylor going forward. Perry Jones III continues to live up to the occasionally unfair "soft" label; when you're a 6-foot-11 lottery pick, and the opposing team had only two contributors bigger than 6-6, 8 points and 4 rebounds just doesn't cut it. The Bears, despite their clear size advantage, allowed the Tigers to rebound 48.3 percent of their misses on the offensive end; per Ken Pomeroy's rankings, Baylor is the 220th-best team in the nation on its defensive glass. When you can run a front line of Jones, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller (who turned in a stellar scoring performance today, it should be noted), why are you getting so consistently and comprehensively outworked on the boards?

Still, let's give the Tigers a huge amount of credit. When Missouri were blown out at Kansas State, the concerns about this team's size were seemingly validated. Sure, Mizzou played well in the nonconference. Sure, the shots were falling. Sure, Ratliffe was on a tear. But could Frank Haith's team really keep it up in conference play? Weren't the Tigers, among any team with an undefeated nonconference record, the most likely to fade into Big 12 mediocrity? The answer, as we now know, is a resounding no. Small? Sure. Guard-oriented? You bet. This team is what it is. What you see is what you get. And what you get is one of the best offensive -- check, that, one of the best, period -- teams in the nation, bar none. Great win.

West Virginia 77, Cincinnati 74 (OT)
What we learned: If you haven't seen Kevin Jones play lately, you're missing the Big East Player of the Year to date -- and a legitimate national POY contender, too. Frankly, you might not recognize him. Jones, who struggled to adapt to a star role last season, has emerged as all that and more in 2011-12. This form was again on display today, especially late in regulation, when Jones hit a massive go-ahead 3 to help WVU push Cincinnati to overtime, where the Mountaineers outlasted the Bearcats for a massive home win. Jones finished with 26 points on 11-of-15 from the field, hitting both of his 3-point attempts and grabbing 13 rebounds in the process. Like I said: If that's not the Big East Player of the Year thus far, I don't know who is.

In the meantime, despite the loss -- and a truly questionable layup attempt by Dion Dixon, when the Bearcats needed a 3 to tie -- Cincinnati can come away from this game looking pretty good. Just a few days after beating UConn on the road, it faced down a star-led squad on its brutal home court and very nearly, but for a few late errors and big plays by West Virginia, came away with a win. If you thought Cincinnati was the second-best team in the league after the win over the Huskies, you might still feel that way now.

Tennessee 60, No. 11 Connecticut 57
What we learned: The Huskies can't stop the slide. Saturday's loss at Tennessee marks UConn's fourth loss in its past six games, and was again emblematic of the woes facing this team: disjointed offense, a willingness to take bad shots, lack of leadership in tough situations, interior play far below the sum of its insanely talented parts. We knew Cuonzo Martin's Tennessee squad would come out and play hard in Knoxville. Even when the Volunteers have been bad this season (which has been often: This win moves them to a mere 9-10 overall), they've played with a blue-collar, let's-work-hard spirit preached constantly by their first-year head coach. Today it paid off.

But Connecticut deserves much of the blame here, too. Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi should be dominating undermanned frontcourts like UT's. Instead, they combined for 11 points and were obviously outplayed by freshman Jarnell Stokes, who posted a double-double in his third career game. The same Stokes who was a 17-year-old kid in high school last month. Great win for the Vols, of course, but the postgame questions will be all about UConn. As of Jan. 21, this team -- so talented, so promising, so mystifyingly mediocre -- still has miles to go before it can be considered a Big East contender, let alone one with national title aspirations.

No. 2 Kentucky 77, Alabama 71
What we learned: There are no moral victories in college hoops. Alabama coach Anthony Grant will be eager to share that rather cliché bit of information with his team following Saturday's loss at Kentucky. And it's true -- a win is a win, a loss is a loss, and minimal nuance is allowed to color those stark W's and L's at the end of the season. Still, in the final moments of Bama's impressive Saturday road stand, against the No. 2 team in the country and a program that has won its past 47 road games, the longest active streak in Division I, the only thought that occurred to this viewer was: "Well, no matter whether they win or lose, this was a great game for Alabama."

It was. The Crimson Tide are in the midst of a three-games-in-eight-days scheduling bump, one that put them on the road at Mississippi State (loss), at home against Vanderbilt (loss, and an ugly one at that) and then, mercilessly, on the road at Kentucky. Yet Alabama never quit coming at the typically impressive Wildcats. Even when struggling forward Tony Mitchell fouled out with five minutes remaining, the Tide kept getting scores and free throws and good looks, pushing the game and preventing UK from ever finishing in comfort.

In the end, Anthony Davis' freakish interior defense saved Kentucky's day; the last of his four blocks came with 7 seconds left to preserve a four-point lead, and thus the expected result was achieved. But give Alabama credit: That was a gutsy, tough road performance. This team seemed easy to write off over much of the past two months, but if Saturday's performance was any indication, it will be a worthy competitor in the coming SEC stretch run.

Dayton 87, Xavier 72
What we learned: The Flyers have come a long way since Nov. 30. That's when this team lost 84-55 to Buffalo at home, three days after winning the Old Spice Classic title game over Minnesota. Four days later, Dayton was blown out at Murray State. At that point, first-year coach Archie Miller appeared to have a sincere rebuilding project on his hands. Nearly two months later, the Flyers are, well, flying. This 15-point home win over putative Atlantic 10 favorite Xavier puts them at 4-1 in A-10 play, another excellent addition to a résumé that includes victories over Alabama, Saint Louis and, most recently, a strong 10-point win at Temple. By now, Dayton isn't a rebuild. It isn't a neat little story. It's a legitimate A-10 contender with an easy case to make for an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament. Who saw that one coming?

In the meantime, Xavier's off-and-on struggles -- which appeared to abate with a four-game winning streak in A-10 play -- reared their ugly head again. The Musketeers were mediocre on offense and downright bad on defense, allowing 87 points in 65 possessions, or 1.33 points per trip. Sometimes it's ugly offense, sometimes it's lenient defense, but in either case, it's clear Chris Mack's team hasn't put its midseason slide entirely in the rearview.

Some other observations from Saturday afternoon's selections:

• I didn't get to see all of Kansas' tough 69-66 road win at Texas, but the portions I did see lent some solid eyeball observations to my current theory on Texas: The Longhorns have plenty of holes, particularly in their frontcourt, but they're much better than most people seem to think. To wit, the Longhorns entered Saturday ranked No. 24 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings. They're solid on the offensive glass, good at getting to the free throw line, and while they don't play vintage Rick Barnes defense, they keep games close enough to give lights-out scorer J'Covan Brown chances to go win the game late. He had one such chance Saturday, and it missed, but the lesson was well-taken: Texas will give superior teams fits from here on out. Don't say you weren't warned. (And how 'bout Tyshawn Taylor's continued torrid pace with 22 points and ZERO turnovers? What a three-game stretch.)
• Playing Kentucky's brutal Davis-led defense must have a way of making other defenses feel wide open. That appeared to be the case in Fayetteville today, where the Arkansas Razorbacks -- fresh off a loss to the Wildcats this week -- made their first 11 shots and went 80 percent from the field in the first half against Michigan. Early in the second half, the score was 49-33 Arkansas, and a blowout appeared to be in the works. But the shooting slowed down, Michigan made its comeback, and the Razorbacks narrowly avoided a late loss when Wolverines guard Trey Burke's last-second 3 missed. Bad second half, but a nonetheless solid win for freshman B.J. Young and the rest of Mike Anderson's young team. And what a day for the SEC, eh?
• Purdue had the toughest task of any team in the country Saturday afternoon: The Boilermakers had to fight a Midwestern snowstorm that trapped them on their airport tarmac and prevented them from getting more than a few hours of sleep before the 12 p.m. ET tip. Predictably, Michigan State rolled. Purdue has serious issues on both ends of the floor, particularly with an offense that offers little but a barrage of outside shots. But it's hard to blame the Boilermakers too much for the lopsided 83-58 result.
• Yes, it's hard to win on the road. Yes, it's hard to win on the road in the Big East with a team comprised almost entirely of freshmen. But it's even harder to lose when your opponent shoots 3-of-24 in the first half, 12-of-41 for the game -- which ties Harvard for the season record for fewest field goals in a win -- and makes just three of its 14 3-point field goal attempts on the afternoon. And yet, that's exactly what Rutgers did Saturday, as Georgetown overcame a legendarily poor shooting performance (effective field goal percentage: 33.8) to rally for a late win. Hoyas freshman Otto Porter continued his stellar freshman campaign, scoring Georgetown's final six points and nailing the winning free throws with just 8 seconds remaining. Georgetown fans won't necessarily be pleased with this one, but when you shoot this poorly and still get a win, and thanks to a steady freshman to boot, there's encouraging stuff in there somewhere.
• Maryland will eagerly await to hear the status of freshman center Alex Len, who left the Terps' 73-60 loss to Temple at the Palestra with an ankle injury. Len has helped lead a quiet stretch of solid play from the Terps. With him, this team can compete in the ACC. Without him, well, it's not looking good.
• Poor Boston College. The Eagles showed signs of improvement in two early ACC wins over Clemson and Virginia Tech, but Steve Donahue's team returned to early-season form Saturday, which is a way of saying it got beat soundly at home by another very marginal team -- in this case, a 71-56 home loss to Wake Forest. Yeesh.
• What happened to Belmont? Everyone's favorite mid-major darling -- which returned the lion's share of personnel from last season's 30-5 campaign -- fell 79-78 at USC Upstate on Saturday, dropping to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in the Atlantic Sun to date. The other loss came at home to Lipscomb earlier this month, and all of a sudden the Bruins' expected A-Sun dominance looks entirely vulnerable. Strange times in the Volunteer State.

It didn't look like a great slate of games coming in, but Saturday turned out to be full of upsets and last-second thrillers. Here are some things we learned from all the action ...

The Top Three

Florida State 90, No. 3 North Carolina 57
What we learned: Wow. A true beatdown. Perhaps we don’t have an elite team in college basketball this season. North Carolina has as much potential as any team in the country to warrant that title, but Saturday’s meltdown -- the most lopsided of the Roy Williams era -- contradicted much of what we thought we knew about the Tar Heels. The Seminoles are always feisty against Carolina and Duke and tend to be giant-killers, but this was just silly. The Noles were 12-for-27 from the 3-point line in this victory. Deividas Dulkys was 8-for-10 from beyond the arc and scored a career-high 32 points. He had scored a combined 32 points in his previous nine games. The Tar Heels lost their fire once the barrage began. The Seminoles saw a vulnerable team and pounced. For the third time this season, the Heels lost a game outside of Chapel Hill. But in this loss, they were bullied and lethargic. How will UNC recover, and what on earth is the ACC about right now?

No. 2 Kentucky 65, Tennessee 62
What we learned: Cuonzo Martin’s Volunteers haven’t looked like an 8-9 squad over the past week. In their past three games, they’ve defeated Florida, nearly knocked off Mississippi State on the road and battled Kentucky for all 40 minutes. Freshman Jarnell Stokes, the highly touted prep player who joined the team Monday, recorded nine points and grabbed four rebounds in his debut. Once Stokes gets into shape, he’s going to have a major effect on a Tennessee squad that led Kentucky by eight in the second half and stuck with the Wildcats until the end. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (18 points, 4 blocks) are two of America’s best, but their squad is going to get caught in league play soon if it continues to show up only after halftime.

No. 1 Syracuse 78, Providence 55
What we learned: This game was over when Ed Cooley announced stud point guard Vincent Council would not play. The Friars’ leading scorer might not have affected the final outcome, but he could have helped his squad’s deplorable offense (3-for-14 from beyond the arc, 22 turnovers) against Cuse's press. Council was a beast in PC's 31-point destruction of Louisville earlier this week. But Syracuse proved, again, that it’s the undisputed No. 1 team in the country. SU has separated itself from one of the most competitive leagues in the country. The Orange’s 19-0 start matches the best in school history. With North Carolina losing to Florida State and Kentucky struggling against Tennessee, it’s about time that Syracuse gets more credit for its strong start. Best team. In the country. No debate.

The Midwest Upsets

Northwestern 81, No. 7 Michigan State 74
What we learned: Oh, Big Ten. How you always find a way to amaze us. Within the past week, the league’s top three teams all have fallen in upsets. At home in Evanston, the Wildcats (losers of four of their previous five entering the game) snapped Michigan State’s 15-game winning streak as John Shurna led four double-figure scorers with 22 points. This game meant a few things: (1) There’s far less separation between the top and bottom of the Big Ten than there appeared to be two weeks ago. (2) Much like Michigan and Wisconsin, the Spartans are looking for a consistent No. 3. Draymond Green and Keith Appling were the team’s only two scorers in double figures. (3) Northwestern needs to prove it can put together a string of games that resemble Saturday’s outing. The Wildcats have pieces, but they tend to showcase their potential in spurts. Wonder whether this season will be different.

Iowa 75, No. 13 Michigan 59
What we learned: I can’t figure out Iowa or the Big Ten right now. The Hawkeyes knocked off their second nationally ranked opponent in two weeks. And in a Big Ten that’s as hard to peg as any league in the country right now, the Hawkeyes look like a factor. I didn’t say contender. But the Hawkeyes prove the Big Ten doesn’t offer any easy victories. No pushovers in this conference (see Minnesota-Indiana, Northwestern-Michigan for further proof). For Michigan, this game just confirmed how much the Wolverines rely on Tim Hardaway Jr. He is 17-for-55 in the team’s four losses. The only way the Wolverines -- now 1-3 on the road -- will make a push toward the top of the Big Ten standings is if Hardaway is more consistent.

Oklahoma 82, No. 18 Kansas State 73
What we learned: Frank Martin was enraged after his team lost to an undefeated Baylor squad Tuesday at home. He preached defense in his postgame interviews. That was a major challenge for the Wildcats on Saturday, too. The Big 12’s eighth-ranked scoring defense allowed a Sooners team that lost its first three Big 12 games to shoot 55 percent from the field. K-State's performances against Mizzou and Baylor suggested the Wildcats deserve a spot among the Big 12’s elite. That’s not necessarily the case anymore, with the Wildcats having dropped three of their past four games. Their conference slate gets easier from here over the next few weeks, but the Cats will find themselves in vulnerable spots, especially on the road, if their defensive woes continue. That's now 3-8 in its past 11 Big 12 road games for KSU. After a strong debut, Lon Kruger’s squad fell hard (the Sooners had lost four of five entering Saturday’s game). But the Kansas State victory should be a major confidence booster for OU. The Sooners snapped a 14-game losing skid against ranked opponents.

The Mountain West Thriller

No. 22 San Diego State 69, No. 12 UNLV 67
What we learned: The Mountain West is going to make noise in March. The league’s top two squads, both nationally ranked, battled for 40 minutes in San Diego. This wasn’t a basketball game. It was a title fight. I wasn’t there, but it felt like a tournament game from my couch. This game had some of the best back-and-forth action I’ve seen all season. Neither team could pull away. Jamaal Franklin (team-high 24 points) tumbled over a photographer in the final seconds and hurt his ankle. But he returned to the floor moments later and scored the game-winning bucket. Steve Fisher continues to exceed expectations after losing Kawhi Leonard to the NBA draft and three other starters. The Rebels won’t beat the top squads in their league or the NCAA tournament if their two leading scorers, Chace Stanback (7 points, 3-of-9 shooting) and Mike Moser (9 points, 3-of-11), struggle in big games. But San Diego State is headed to Las Vegas on Feb. 11 for the rematch. Can’t wait to see that. This matchup wasn’t just a boost for the two teams on floor; it was a boost for the entire league. The Mountain West is tough. And don't forget about New Mexico, which won its 13th straight with a victory at Wyoming. The Aztecs and Lobos go at it Wednesday night.

Taking Care Of Business

No. 9 Missouri 84, Texas 73
What we learned: The Tigers aren’t conventional. They’re undersized in a league with a multitude of skilled bigs and they’re not very deep. But Frank Haith used seven players in his second consecutive victory since last week’s lopsided loss at Kansas State. Ricardo Ratliffe led the Tigers with 21 points (10-of-12). Marcus Denmon, who had six in a win at Iowa State on Wednesday, scored 18 against the Longhorns. Phil Pressey (18 points, 10 assists, 0 turnovers) continued his impressive play. Few teams possess the perimeter depth and skill to challenge Missouri’s talented backcourt for 40 minutes. J’Covan Brown scored 34 points for the Horns, matching the combined scoring tally for the team’s other four starters. But they couldn’t defend a Mizzou team that held a 43-30 edge at halftime and finished with four scorers in double figures. A week ago, folks questioned the Tigers' legitimacy. But they clearly have regained their mojo since the KSU loss and should pose a threat to any top-tier Big 12 team.

No. 20 Mississippi State 56, Alabama 52
What we learned: Alabama entered this game on a five-game winning streak. But Bama won’t beat most teams in the SEC by scoring 52 points. JaMychal Green (14 points) was the Crimson Tide's only double-digit scorer. The Bulldogs weren’t much better. However, Arnett Moultrie’s 25-point, 13-rebound output was the difference. The two teams combined to shoot 4-for-26 from the 3-point line, but Dee Bost was 3-for-3 from long range in the closing minutes and that was that. Man, the SEC is confusing. Kentucky is obviously the league’s best, but who are Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5? This was an opportunity for these squads to make a definitive statement about their places in the league. Didn’t really happen. I expected more from this one, but hey, Mississippi State will take the win.

Some more observations from Saturday

• Baylor looked like a national champ in its 106-65 victory over Oklahoma State. No, the Cowboys aren’t an elite team. But the Bears shot 52 percent on 3-pointers (15-of-29) and had almost twice as many rebounds as OSU (48-25). Nine players scored for the Bears. Their depth is underrated, and it’s going to be a huge asset in March.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Al BehrmanMaalik Wayns, left, dropped 39 for Villanova in a loss at Cincinnati.
• Iowa State blew a 12-point second-half lead and lost its second consecutive matchup against a ranked opponent in its 82-73 defeat at Kansas. But with Royce White (18 points, 17 rebounds), the Cyclones can win nine or more in the Big 12. By the way, a career-high 28 points out of Tyshawn Taylor should quiet a few of his critics.
• Connecticut is such a different team when Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond are fully engaged. Drummond (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Oriakhi (12 points, 7 rebounds) were impressive in the Huskies’ 67-53 win at Notre Dame, ending the Irish's 29-game home win streak. The Huskies didn’t have Ryan Boatright, but they played like a complete team with their bigs being so active.
• Pittsburgh played better Saturday but still lost at Marquette 62-57. The Panthers, the models of consistency over the past decade, have lost six straight and are 0-5 in the Big East. Holy cow. Let that one sink in.
• His team lost once again in a close game at Cincinnati, but it's worth mentioning the effort by Villanova's Maalik Wayns, who had a line of 39 points (6-of-13 from 3), 13 rebounds and six assists, and put his struggling Wildcats in a position to win on the road.
• Xavier has won three in a row, after topping St. Bonaventure 77-64. Mark Lyons and Tu Holloway combined to score 33 points in the victory. The Musketeers didn’t secure any signature wins during this mini-revival, but that doesn’t matter. X needed to get back to winning as it prepares for the Atlantic 10's toughest squads. Until someone in the conference knocks off the Musketeers at the Cintas Center (where they've beaten 42 consecutive A-10 opponents), this team is still the league favorite in my opinion.
• Conference USA should be fun this season. Like Xavier, Memphis -- a decisive winner at Houston on Saturday night -- should still be considered the favorite until someone proves they can beat the Tigers on the road. But Marshall and UCF played a classic in a 65-64 Thundering Herd victory, and both could give Memphis trouble. Southern Miss is right in the mix as well.
• Meanwhile, in the Mid-American Conference, Akron now has to be considered the favorite after a 68-63 victory over Ohio, which looked so solid in nonconfernece play but has faltered of late. The Zips have wins at Mississippi State and Marshall. If they make the NCAA tournament, look out.
• Have to be impressed with the way Oregon swept the Arizona schools. Winning in Tempe is nothing to be overjoyed about, but winning in Tucson -- no matter how mediocre the Wildcats have been for most of the season -- is still special for any Pac-12 school. The Ducks are as good a bet as any to win this crazy league.
• You know who won't win the Pac-12? The Ducks' rival, Oregon State. The Beavers have played great at times this season, but the bottom line is 1-5 in a down conference after a horrendous double-digit loss at Arizona State on Saturday.
• You know who just might win the Pac-12? Stanford. The Cardinal now are 5-1 in the conference after a 20-point beatdown of Colorado, which began 3-0 (all at home) but got a rude awakening in the Bay Area by Cal and Stanford.
• Gonzaga was shaky early Saturday night, but the Zags have to be happy with their 62-58 win at Loyola Marymount, a team that has knocked off UCLA and Saint Louis this season. Mark Few's team was absolutely humiliated at Saint Mary's on Thursday. A bounce-back victory was a must, and the Zags got it done.

1. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told ESPN.com late Thursday night that the league will review the overtime scuffle between Oregon State and Arizona. Don’t be surprised if there are some suspensions since the Pac-12 tends to be aggressive. Arizona’s Kyryl Natyazhko and Oregon State’s Joe Burton were ejected. Natyazhko was out of line in his reaction. He had to be held back. Arizona’s Kyle Fogg started the mess by woofing at OSU’s Jared Cunningham after a dunk. But credit Arizona’s Sean Miller here for trying to quickly restore order before it escalated too much. OSU’s Craig Robinson also kept his players cool.

2. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith was criticized locally last week because of the Gophers' failure to excite or go deep in March. The Gophers turned around and had the best outing of their season with a road win at Indiana in vaunted Assembly Hall. The Big Ten record doesn’t show it (1-4), but Smith had to reconstitute this team without Trevor Mbakwe (ACL). The Gophers have remained competitive. Indiana can’t be faulted too much for a home loss. Remember, this is still a young team that is learning to play with high expectations.

3. It will be interesting to see how Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin uses Jarnell Stokes against Kentucky on Saturday. The highly-touted incoming freshman was deemed eligible by the SEC this week. Martin has his Vols playing as hard as any team in the SEC, and Stokes hasn’t been privy to Martin’s coaching or the tough practice schedule. Stokes is a talent, but he’ll have to buy in defensively and, of course, effort-wise going forward to make a major contribution. Martin is managing this transition quite well so far in Knoxville.

Cuonzo Martin walked head-first into a storm. Worse yet, he committed to the move when he didn't know how severe the storm would be; in the parlance of the East Coast's weekend weather, Martin couldn't predict whether he was facing a tropical storm or a Category 3 hurricane. But he decided to leave Missouri State for Tennessee anyway, hoping the NCAA committee on infractions would spare the Volunteers from a potentially devastating postseason ban.

The committee announced its decision late last week, and Bruce Pearl was the one punished most harshly. Tennessee, on the other hand, came out just fine, avoiding a dreaded postseason ban as the committee recognized Tennessee's unprecedented self-penalties and the fact that Pearl, his staff and former athletic director Mike Hamilton have all been removed from their positions.

That means Martin can officially breathe a sigh of relief. As he told reporters this past weekend, the outcome couldn't have been much better:

"I think we came out as good as we possibly could in a situation like this," Martin told reporters. "I think prospects are more at ease making decisions; guys who liked Tennessee now like Tennessee even more."

"I've been on the phones with recruits and in meetings with our staff members and players," he said. "I think the recruits' biggest concern was a potential postseason ban, and that was the biggest thing we were hoping to avoid. Everything else, you have a chance of overcoming, but that's hard for a young high school player to overcome."

Martin's right: A postseason ban effectively kills your ability to recruit. It's nearly impossible to convince elite talent to come to your school, because that elite talent often believes it's going to the NBA after one season, and why would you spend that one season playing for a school that can't go to the NCAA tournament and the exposure it provides? And it's not exactly easy to get marginal prospects, either, even if the postseason ban only lasts one season. For players, it's wasted time.

That kind of temporary setback and subsequent transfer exodus can set your program back years at a time. Tennessee will have some struggles ahead, that's for sure. But Martin can still make a credible case to former Tennessee recruits that little has changed at the program, that it's still a place that can compete in the SEC and NCAA tournaments every year. There's no way to understate the importance of that ability.

The father of the BCS champion quarterback allegedly shopped his son around for six figures.

North Carolina football is bogged down in a quagmire of agent involvement that has cost both the coach and the athletic director their jobs. At Ohio State, the self-proclaimed (vest)ige of virtue has been cast aside amid a threads-for-tattoo scandal. And NCAA investigators are sifting through potential violations at Miami that might be both illegal and immoral.

It almost makes a person nostalgic for the little old barbecue that landed Bruce Pearl in the trash heap. What a quaint, simplistic rule violation that was.

And yet here we are, on Tennessee’s day of reckoning, and Pearl not only is out of work -- he’s almost assuredly out of college athletics for three years, courtesy of a show-cause penalty.

Some folks in and around Knoxville today might cry foul. They will argue that their beloved coach was taken to the cleaners for a silly barbecue and that, compared to the landmines blowing up all across the college athletics countryside, his crime is nothing.

It’s true. The barbecue wasn’t a big deal.

The lying afterward was.

That was the kerosene tossed onto this brush fire. Had Pearl merely extended an ill-advised invite to a few recruits and their families, he would have been docked a few recruiting trips and maybe even some scholarships, but he’d still be coaching at the University of Tennessee.

Once he played Peter and denied the invite, denied the picture taken inside his house and denied knowing his assistant coach’s wife (and then even told Aaron Craft's father to deny, deny, deny), he elevated his petty fine to one of felonious proportions.

In the NCAA Committee on Infractions’ report, it is referred to as "unethical conduct." That’s NCAA-speak for lying, and you don’t lie to your parents. You don’t lie to your teachers. You don’t lie to your spouse. And you most certainly don’t lie to the NCAA.

“This case was narrow in scope,’’ COI vice chair Britton Banowsky said on Wednesday's NCAA conference call. “The serious nature relates to the unethical conduct. I’m not sure we would be here were it not for those allegations and those findings.’’

The proof that Pearl was fricasseed by his fibbing more than his barbecuing is evident in the punishments doled out by the COI. Or more accurately, in the punishments not doled out by the COI.

This could have been worse, much worse, for the Volunteers. There could have been more significant scholarship reductions or recruiting limits. There could have been a postseason ban similar to the one imposed at USC.

Instead, the committee accepted the wounds Tennessee inflicted upon itself -- a one-year off-campus recruiting ban for the former staff, a $1.5 million cut in Pearl’s pay plus the SEC’s eight-game ban -- and, for once, punished the actual culprits.

If there has been a common refrain about the NCAA’s punitive measures, it is that the guilty keep right on going while everyone else is left to clean up the scorched earth.

Not in this case. Here Pearl and his assistants were charged with the most egregious offenses -- lying, covering up their lies or impeding the investigation -- and they were punished accordingly.

“It’s important to understand that those who are not forthcoming, who are not cooperative, who are unethical in their response, the committee takes that very seriously and the penalties will be levied appropriately,’’ COI chair Dennis Thomas said.

Certainly Tennessee helped itself by kicking the accused to the curb before the ax fell. Pearl and his staff were dismissed in March, and athletic director Mike Hamilton resigned in June. The AD was an unfortunate but necessary sacrificial lamb. With football also under investigation, keeping the man in charge wouldn’t exactly sell the message that UT was cleaning up its department.

But the good news -- and yes, there is some in Knoxville despite this and the much more sobering news that Pat Summitt has early-onset dementia -- is that there is life after the barbecue.

By reserving its harshest punishments for those who did wrong, the COI allowed new coach Cuonzo Martin the chance to do his job. He will operate under the looming shadow of two years' probation, but that comes into play only should he muck things up. And by all accounts, Martin is admired for his ethical standards as much as his coaching acumen, so odds favor the Vols keeping their record clean.

Probation shouldn’t impede Martin’s ability to grow the program or attract recruits. As he said in May, “As long as there’s no postseason ban, we’ll be OK and we can weather the storm.’’

The Committee on Infractions still has plenty of storms to weather. Its case load grows seemingly by the hour, as do the stakes for some name-brand programs that only wish they were on the hook for hosting a hamburger hoedown.

Our friends at The Mag are previewing one high-profile school per day for their Summer Buzz series. For the sake of all that is synergistic, yours truly will be attempting the same, complementing each comprehensive Insider preview with some analytic fun. Today's subject: Tennessee.

When your program's most successful basketball coach in history lies to NCAA investigators, a few things tend to happen:

1. Your program becomes subject to wills of the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
2. You fire that coach. (You might wait an entire season in the vain hope things work out. But eventually, yeah, you fire that coach.)
3. You look for a new coach, one who doesn't mind inheriting a post-sanctions quagmire.
4. You hope that coach knows what he's doing.

By all accounts, Tennessee succeeded on the fourth count. Cuonzo Martin wasn't hired only because he was one of the few rising college hoops coaches who still had his hand up when former coach Bruce Pearl, now a hot commodity on the D-League circuit, brought the Volunteers crashing down around him. Willingness is one thing, and Tennessee was probably just fine finding someone who actually wanted to come to Knoxville.* But willing and able? When you're in UT's situation, that's another issue entirely.

(*I remember reading a Tennessee fan forum post during the Vols' coaching search. The discussion was centered on plausible coaching candidates, and at one point, a poster exclaimed that he expected the Vols to pursue Butler's Brad Stevens and VCU's Shaka Smart, among others. This was funny, but it was also kind of sad.)

Considering the circumstances, Martin might have been the best possible hire. He has big-time recruiting experience in the Big Ten, a familiarity with high-major hoops, and his most recent coaching expedition, the one that earned him national buzz, saw him transform a struggling Missouri State program into a team that won the school's first MVC regular-season title and at various times looked like an NCAA tournament at-large contender.

That's the able part. As for the willingness, well, Martin's there. He wanted the job. And as has been written more than once in this space and others, the coach who grew up on the rough streets of East St. Louis and survived a mid-20s bout with cancer probably scoffs at the idea that rebuilding a major college hoops program constitutes "adversity." When you think about it that way, it does seem sort of silly.

Within the context of college basketball, though, Tennessee's future is looking plenty adverse.

For one, there's the looming likelihood of NCAA sanctions. We're not sure what the Committee on Infractions will eventually hand down to the Volunteers, but we do know that the men's basketball and football programs are being investigated simultaneously, and the NCAA almost certainly has concerns about the school's ability to, in the NCAA's terms, foster an atmosphere of compliance.

We also know that the NCAA is slowly but surely ramping up its penalties for violations; harsher penalties have been a cornerstone of new NCAA president Mark Emmert's talking points on enforcement all the way through this week's presidential retreat in Indianapolis.

Neither bodes well for the Vols. The penalties are likely to be severe. Before the fall arrives, Martin may lose future scholarships. He may face recruiting restrictions. He might even be confronting the possibility of a postseason ban. I don't need to page ESPN recruiting expert Dave Telep to confirm that these things are not exactly boons to recruiting. If the penalty is severe enough, it may be years before Martin can recruit with a full toolbox.

The other reason Tennessee's future is looking dim -- and this is more to the point of the Buzz series, which is ostensibly a look at the year to come -- is that Pearl didn't leave a lot of experienced talent behind. Freshman standout Tobias Harris left for the NBA, as did inconsistent-but-talented guard Scotty Hopson. Senior stalwarts Melvin Goins and Brian Williams, alongside useful reserves like Steven Pearl, John Fields and Josh Bone, have all graduated.

To make things worse, both of Pearl's ESPNU 100 recruits for the class of 2011 ditched the Vols when the former coach was fired. What remains is a class that looks more like a pretty good mid-major one. The best player in the group is small forward Josh Richardson, a three-star talent ranked No. 40 overall at his position.

The rest -- point guard Wesley Washpun, shooting guard Quinton Cheivous and center Yemi Makanjuola -- are less heralded players unlikely to make major impacts at the collegiate level. At the very least, the class is a far cry from what Tennessee fans grew accustomed to in the Pearl years. Expectations must change accordingly.

The good news, at least for the immediate future, is that a few players from Pearl's last class on campus are still, in fact, on campus. The most promising of these is sophomore guard Jordan McRae, who arrived in Knoxville as the No. 10-ranked shooting guard in the class of 2010. McRae didn't make an impact in his freshman season -- heaven forbid Hopson didn't get his shots up -- but with so much lost in the Pearl debacle, McRae now has a chance to earn the spotlight at the next level. (And fellow sophomore shooting guard Trae Golden should get some decent run, too.)

Meanwhile, the lone starter returning to Tennessee is 6-foot-6 forward Cameron Tatum, a role player in 2011 that will have to become far more aggressive -- and, if possible, much more efficient -- in 2012. There are some junior college players and little-used reserves plugging the holes here, too; newcomer Dwight Miller, who spent time at Pittsburgh before transferring to Midland College in Texas, was one of the 10 or so best Juco prospects in the country this season and could play big minutes right away.

Former Marquette transfer Jeronne Maymon is still in the mix. Renaldo Woolridge -- who retired his rap moniker "Swiperboy" this week -- played a key role for Tennessee when the scandal involving Tyler Smith and others threatened to derail the Volunteers' 2009-10 season. Forward Kenny Hall and guard Skylar McBee are names you might recognize, though neither player has been a standout in limited minutes thus far in his career.

During the Pearl era, Tennessee thrived on uptempo basketball, a free-flowing, don't-worry-just-shoot-it offense and a tenacious press. Prepare for something new under Martin. At Missouri State, Martin's teams were distinctly slow: In 2011, the Bears ranked No. 309 in the nation in adjusted tempo. (They were faster than that in 2009 and 2010, but not by much.)

That sloth was a product not only of Martin's own style and coaching background at Purdue, but also of the typically slow MVC. In 2011, the Bears were the kind of team that deliberates on offense, works for a quality shot and makes those shots count, especially on the perimeter. (Missouri State made 37.6 percent of its 3s in 2011. Rank? No. 40.) This style couldn't possibly contrast more from the 2010-11 Vols, who were in many ways undone by rushed offense, bad shot selection and good old-fashioned bad shooting. (UT made 30.0 percent of its 3s in 2011. Rank? No. 323.)

Martin's first item of business, then, is to play the hand he's been dealt and, like any willing gambler, make the most of it. Or, to use a Bob Knight catchphrase, he has to make chicken salad out of chicken ... well, you know. But it could work: Teams with less talent are usually better off slowing things down anyway, and if Martin can limit his team's possessions and find the right combination of shooters, he might be able to keep Tennessee in games when the Vols' talent is clearly inferior to its opponent's.

This, really, is the best hope for Tennessee in 2011-12. The Volunteers have a long slog ahead of them, one that will only be made worse by the NCAA sanctions set to arrive shortly.

So long term, the Vols needed someone both willing and able, and they did well to find it in Martin. Long term, the program should survive. Short term -- and this includes next season -- it's going to be a struggle. Pretending otherwise is wishful thinking.

But that's what happens when your most successful coach in school history lies to NCAA investigators. Now it's up to Martin to pick up the pieces.

It's not often you'll hear a coach openly say he doesn't want to play an opponent. Usually -- even when coaches are padding their schedules with early season softies -- coaches try to sell their schedules as master documents of their own making. Defiance and competitive solidarity are much more coach-y, and thus much more popular, ways to discuss scheduling in public.

Count Memphis coach Josh Pastner as among those willing to tell it like it is. Speaking with Knoxville-area radio show hosts Josh Ward and Will West on WNML-AM 990 Monday, Pastner was in a candid mood, fully admitting that he -- much like his predecessor, John Calipari -- doesn't like playing in-state rival Tennessee and preferred the game wasn't on the schedule at all. From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

“I have no desire to play Tennessee,” Pastner told hosts Josh Ward and Will West on WNML-AM 990. “I don’t think it does us any good. I’m just being honest with you. For us, it’s a game that, I don’t know why we play it, but we play it because the athletic director wants me to play it and he’s my boss and what he says goes.”

Reached later, Pastner said he hasn’t hidden from his feelings, which he said are rooted in recruiting and aren’t personal. To Pastner, it’s simple: He doesn’t consider Knoxville a fertile recruiting ground, so why give Tennessee exposure in Memphis, a place where the Vols actively recruit players.

Pastner said he understood why his athletic director, R.C. Johnson, is so in favor of the game: It's great for the fans. Provincial bragging rights are on the line, and the game promotes a rivalry between the schools that can only be good for each team's bottom line. Frankly, when both programs are on the rise -- as they were during the John Calipari and Bruce Pearl years of the recent past -- the fixture is probably good for both schools. It's a big one on the calendar. It garners national attention and exposure. College GameDay's been known to show up from time to time. That can't be a bad thing, right?

But things have changed. Under Pastner, Memphis is ascendant, stockpiling young talent in loaded recruiting classes, another of which arrives on campus this summer. At Tennessee, Pearl's departure and the impending NCAA sanctions have put the Volunteers into what will likely be a protracted rebuilding period. You can understand if Pastner doesn't want to do the Vols any favors just this very moment. As Sean Combs' character in "Get Him To The Greek" would say, Pastner is in the power position. If the game works for both sides, great. If not, maybe it's not as worthwhile as everyone thought.

Still, the Tennessee-Memphis rivalry doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Why? Because Pastner, like all good employees, knows when to sit down, be quiet and let the boss make the final call:

“(Johnson) feels it’s great for the state of Tennessee,” Pastner told the radio station. “A lot of people want it in the state of Tennessee, and so I understand that. … I’m OK with it. Look, my athletic director, I think he’s the best. I mean, the absolute best. If he tells me to do something, I totally believe in chain of command. He’s the boss. If he told me to go play Ole Miss, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi State and anyone else, I would do it, because he’s the boss.”

PHILADELPHIA -- The best thing you can do, Cuonzo Martin said, is to be honest with everyone.

And yes, there is a more than a hint of irony in that simple statement.

If Martin’s predecessor had been honest from the get-go, chances are the University of Tennessee wouldn’t be in such hot water with the NCAA. And who knows, maybe Martin is still wearing his Missouri State gear as he embarks on the odyssey of July recruiting.

But Bruce Pearl fudged the truth, his program unraveled and because of all that, on Wednesday, Martin took a seat in the Philadelphia University bleachers for the first day of the Reebok Breakout Challenge wearing the impossible-to-miss day-glo orange of the Vols.

In a lot of ways, this July is no different than any other July for Martin. He’s been in the coaching business for 11 years and has worn out plenty of bleachers in his day. But this month is also unlike any other Martin has had to face. He recruits unsure of what Tennessee’s future holds and is asked questions he has no answers for.

“When people ask me about what’s going to happen to us,’’ the UT basketball coach said, “I just tell them the truth: I don’t know. I could guess but if I’m wrong, guys will come back and say, ‘Yeah, coach, but you said …’’ and that doesn’t do anyone any good. I’m just trying to be honest with them and right now the honest answer is I don’t know.’’

The Committee on Infractions is expected to render its decision on Tennessee sometime before summer’s end, and though the date has yet to be etched on the calendar, Martin already is looking forward to it.

“It will be nice when this is all just behind us,’’ he said. “It will be nice to just move forward, whatever that might mean.’’

Whatever the committee decides, the Vols’ future will be made now, when Martin -- like everyone else -- scours for talent. Martin wasn’t planning to stick around Philadelphia long -- by mid-afternoon he was on a flight to Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy, and from there he will continue the month-long ritual crisscrossing the United States.

As exhausting as the travel is, Martin was looking forward to it for a lot of reasons.

For starters, he’s always been a recruiting junkie. He said he remembered once when he chose to come off the road for a brief time, only to find his battery drained when it was time to go back out.

“Now I just know, you have to keep on going,’’ he said.

But this year, July is especially welcome. It is his first wearing the Tennessee orange, but it’s also the first real normalcy he’s had since taking over in Knoxville in late March. The first few months for any new head coach are, at best, organized mayhem. There are new campus faces to meet, alumni to greet, hands to shake and community groups to embrace.

For Martin, it’s been even more tumultuous. Pearl remains a popular and beloved coach in the Volunteer State and his dismissal was hardly a universally popular decision. Then in June, his athletic director resigned, and days later Martin was part of the Tennessee contingent that attended the COI hearings.

July chaos? That he knows.

On Tuesday night, he kissed his family goodbye and won’t reconnect with them until July 18, when his sister Jamikka gets married in St. Louis.

“She intentionally picked the one quiet weekend so I could be there,’’ Martin laughed.

From there it is back out for Round 2 on the recruiting calendar, followed by a month as assistant coach for the World University Games team in China.

“In all, I won’t really be home until Aug. 23,’’ Martin said. “By then, hopefully things will be settled.’’

As Tennessee is about to get its day in the NCAA's version of court, new coach Cuonzo Martin has brought back a member of Bruce Pearl's staff to the team.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the Volunteers have rehired Mark Pancratz as a video coordinator after he most recently served as the assistant to Bruce Pearl. Pancratz originally lost his job after Pearl was fired in March.

It's a hire that doesn't involve a big-time position, but Pancratz was once indeed one of the program's public faces given that he wrote a blog for the team that took fans inside the locker room and into the emotions of wins and losses.

Pancratz even kept writing for a short while after learning he would have to go look for a new job, vividly explaining what it was like to market himself as a former Tennessee staffer in Houston, site of the Final Four.

For starters, I rocked my University of Tennessee basketball shirts all weekend. As you would expect this got a lot of looks and questions. Comments such as "Why would you wear that, they just fired you?" or "You don't work there anymore" were continuously thrown my way. Comments such as those were exactly what I was going for as the "Power T" broke the ice and enabled me to explain my story to potential employers and colleagues. I am darn proud of all that we accomplished at Tennessee and have nothing to be ashamed of during my tenure there.

I finally landed a couple of interviews on Friday after a lot of time networking on Thursday and with the huge help of some great references. Surprise, surprise, I was nervous but confident. Nervous because I need to find a job for my family but confident because I was just going to be me.

Pancratz, who was not cited in any NCAA reports, becomes the second Pearl-era staffer to return to the team. Martin, who also retained Houston Fancher as a director of basketball operations, understands what Pearl accomplished even as he exited the program in disgrace.

That has meant some opportunities for Pearl's staffers who were not smeared by whatever violations were committed. For Pancratz, it meant no longer facing unemployment.

"I'm SO thankful for the opportunity to become a member of the UT Men's basketball staff!" he tweeted. "IT'S GREAT TO BE A TENNESSEE VOL!!!"

No matter what demographic niche you inhabit, the Internet probably has a social network or forum for you. Roger Federer fan? Here you go. Hard-core gamer? Take your pick. "Arrested Development" devotee? You better believe it.

Wife of a college coach? Believe it or not, yes, there is a social network for you, too.

It's called MarriedToTheGame.net, and it sprang forth from the mind of Roberta Martin, wife of newly hired Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin. The site, which is open to wives of any college sports coach, allows users to post photos, leave messages and chat in forums -- like a miniature, hyper-niche Facebook. According to the AP, members "share their gameday fashions, talk about bringing children to games or commiserate about their husbands' absences during recruiting season."

Since Martin conceived the idea in 2008, the site has amassed around 700 users. Those members include Joani Crean and Jerri Painter, the wives of Indiana coach Tom Crean and Purdue coach Matt Painter, who met on the site and developed a friendship that crosses heated rivalry lines. According to Martin, that's essentially the point of the site. From the AP:

Martin said she had the idea for MarriedToTheGame after her husband left his job as a Purdue assistant and accepted the head coaching position at Missouri State in 2008. She left her own full-time job and became a stay-at-home mom in the process.

"It was my first time being a stay-at-home mom, and I was running on the treadmill, and I was like, 'Certainly there are other wives who have gone through this transition,'" Martin said. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have a way to connect with them,' and I was just getting into Facebook at the time." [...]

Connie Whitesell is currently in the middle of her own relocation after husband Jim was fired from Loyola and accepted a job as a Saint Louis assistant. Through connections on MarriedToTheGame, she's gotten to know St. Louis as she prepares to move there from Chicago.

"I think the thing I appreciate it the most is that there are some really unique challenges that are faced by the families and spouses of coaches," she said. "All the movement that goes on and how your husband can get a new job and have to be there within hours while the spouses are coordinating the efforts back at home."

College coaches live strangely. Addicted to Crackberries and travel, driven by the same competitive instincts he attempts to instill in players, the modern college hoops coach doesn't get much time to rest or pause or -- especially among the ambitious youngsters -- be selective about where the next coaching destination is. A job opens. It's better than the one you have. You take it. Typically, the calculus is just that simple.

Lost in all this, of course, is what it means to be a family member -- let alone the significant other -- of someone in such a topsy-turvy profession. Lots of college coaches' wives find themselves in small, middle-of-nowhere college towns. When they get there, they may have few, if any friends in the area. Their husbands are frequently traveling. An image of a large, well-appointed, empty house comes to mind. Sure, you could do much worse in this world. Still, that can't be fun.

Married To The Game may not be the tech world's latest hot IPO, but it's an awfully cool idea.

My question is, what's next? Fathered By The Game? Family Pets Of The Game? When no niche is too small, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks to a variety of recruiting shortcuts, mistakes and outright lies by former coach Bruce Pearl, new Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin inherited a brutally difficult job this offseason. By the end of the summer, Martin is likely to be overseeing a program with minimized scholarships, some form of probation and -- if the absolute worst happens -- a potential postseason ban, all of which could scare recruits away faster than you can say "another horrible shot by Scott Hopson."

Martin knew what he was getting himself into, of course, and he chose to come anyway. Clearly, he isn't backing down from the challenge. But he does find himself in a tough spot. Even tougher, perhaps, is the knowledge that he -- alongside school compliance officials, athletic director Mike Hamilton and chancellor Jimmy Cheek -- will attend Tennessee's hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions June 10-11.

There's not much Martin can add to the discussion at the hearing. After all, he was in Springfield, Mo., when Pearl hosted the barbecue heard 'round the world and wasn't even in a glint in Vols' fans eyes when Pearl lied to NCAA investigators about said barbecue. But he'll be attending anyway. From the Knoxville News Sentinel:

Tennessee men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin knows the Vols have challenges ahead on the court and on the recruiting trail. He just hopes an NCAA-imposed postseason ban isn’t involved.

“The biggest key with the recruits is what happens with the NCAA,’’ Martin said. “As long as there’s no postseason ban, we’ll be OK and we can weather the storm.’’

If there's any reason for Martin to attend the hearings -- other than being first-hand for a decision that will come to define his first few years in Knoxville, Tenn. -- it will be a symbolic one. Martin stands for the new era in Tennessee hoops, the one that doesn't cut corners or back away from scrutiny, the one that faces challenges head-first and so on and so forth -- you get the picture.

In the meantime, much of Tennessee's current case will revolve around the changes it has made on its own. See, Committee on Infractions? We fired that last guy! Here's the new one! He's a real straight shooter! You'll like him! Also, most of the players are gone, too, so you know, there's no reason to punish these guys any further, right? Right?

In the end, that might be Tennessee's best chance of avoiding a postseason ban. It's a tough spot for Martin, that's for sure. But it will be merely the first of many.

Tobias Harris really seemed to enjoy his time at Tennessee. In recent weeks, he was caught on camera playing intramural softball, doing community service, and singing "Rocky Top." The freshman forward who this season led the team in rebounding and scored 15.3 points per game had indicated he would feel comfortable playing for new coach Cuonzo Martin.

The decision by Harris to remain in the NBA draft shouldn't come as a surprise given his talent, but it was nonetheless a blow to what Martin is trying to get started.

Martin loses Harris, and quite possibly will also lose leading scorer Scotty Hopson to the NBA draft. He has already lost the recruiting class Bruce Pearl put together with Chris Jones and Kevin Ware apparently headed elsewhere.

Harris, who is expected to be a first-round draft pick, has plenty of upside as a versatile forward. Most recently, he had been training with George Gervin and John Lucas in preparation for the draft. Martin will miss out on his production.

"First of all, Tobias is a wonderful young man," Martin said in a statement. "He had a great freshman season, but more importantly he also conducts himself in all the right ways off the court. There's no doubt he'll be successful.

"I wish him well. I absolutely loved working with him, over the past several weeks.

"He'll always be a Tennessee Volunteer, and just like every other former player, we're always here for him. He’s part of the family."

Martin had similar words at last week's team banquet in addressing the seniors that had played for Pearl as he bid them farewell. It was a potentially awkward moment that he pulled off while also paying tribute to Pearl's achievements.

Losing Harris was just another reminder that Martin will be building his own program while the last vestiges of Pearl's program gradually disappear.

Bruce Pearl has been back on the airwaves recently, promoting Saturday's Fans of Hope fundraiser in which he and his wife, Brandy, hope to raise $1 million for the Cancer Institute at University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Being fired as Tennessee's coach last month hasn't kept him from helping his wife host the event, which will mark his return to Thompson-Boling Arena. In fact it seems to mark a comeback of sorts into the public eye.

So how's it going for Pearl these days? He won't be coaching again until his issues with the NCAA are resolved, and he'll soon get to face the Committee on Infractions regarding recruiting violations. So right now, he's considering doing some television work.

From WNML-AM:

"It's certainly a possibility. Right now, we've got to get through the hearing from the Committee on Infractions coming up in June, and when we get through that, we'll take a look at what our options are.

"I'm pretty ready to try to move on. The thing about trying to get into the TV thing if I can do that, I have an opportunity to stay in Knoxville and with my children being in high school, that's certainly a reason why I would look toward that."

Asked if he were looking forward to meeting with the NCAA, Pearl said, "Uhh, probably not." He also told the station he had been trying to stay out of the spotlight of late while Cuonzo Martin has taken over at Tennessee.

"We've really purposely stepped back. We're going to support Coach Martin and the new coaching staff and hope that they…and know that they will continue to do a great job and have our basketball team being competitive," Pearl said.