ESPN Men's Basketball

NEW YORK -- For those who forgot their morning cup of java, this isn't the game to jump-start the adrenaline. Georgetown has eased to its halftime lead and in most circumstances, I'd say the Hoyas should roll to the quarterfinals. The caveat: On Feb. 3, Georgetown led by nine at the half and South Florida erupted for a 46-point second half to win the game. So tune in to see what the second half brings.

Here's a few quick observations:

• The Bulls don't have anyone who can keep up with Chris Wright's motor. The Georgetown guard has been lethal in the open floor and is really pushing the tempo for the Hoyas. He's got 10 at the break, plus three assists.
• The Hoyas this season have had a tendency to play one good half and one bad or so-so. Anxious to see if Georgetown can put together a complete 40 minutes here. It can't be fooled or lulled by South Florida's crummy shooting -- just 27 percent from the floor. Certainly Georgetown's defense has something to do with USF's problems, but the Bulls are getting decent looks. They just aren't going in.
• Someone other than Dominique Jones has to score for USF. The junior has 12 of the Bulls' paltry 19 points. Without him, South Florida's anemic shooting drops to a horrific 3-of-18 (16 percent).

NEW YORK -- Rise and shine, hoops heads. Time for the official tip of college basketball. The mid-majors are fun and the Tuesday warm-up at the Garden is a good appetizer but today it’s officially on as the Big East revs up with its four-game platter of hoops.

At least three teams are playing for their NCAA Tournament lives today, two more are working to remove any gray area from their own status and one is trying to secure its head coach’s future.

Game 1: South Florida vs. Georgetown

What’s at stake: The Bulls are in the conversation but a long way from in the tourney. A win here won’t put them in but will put them in the conversation.

What has to happen: Dominique Jones dropped 29 on the Hoyas in a February upset. He’ll need to do the same for the Bulls to have a chance plus negate Georgetown’s guard tandem of Austin Freeman and Chris Wright.

Something else to watch for: The play of Austin Freeman. Diagnosed last week with diabetes, the guard didn’t seem fazed in his first game back. He had 24 points in 30 minutes of an emotional senior night.

Game 2: St. John’s vs. Marquette

What’s at stake: For the Red Storm, it could be Norm Roberts’ job. The coach said he’s not concerned and the university hasn’t offered any indication but certainly after another disappointing season in the Big Apple, he’s at least on the hot seat. For the Golden Eagles, their NCAA spot would appear secure thanks to nine wins in their last 11 games.

What has to happen: Another breakout game for Sean Evans would be helpful. The junior had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Connecticut in the opening round, giving the Red Storm a needed and somewhat unexpected injection of offense.

Something else to watch for: The Red Storm again will be without Dwight Hardy. The junior has a sprained left knee. That’s 10 points that St. John’s needs to make up.

Game 3: Seton Hall vs. Notre Dame

What’s at stake: The Pirates are on the very soft bubble but not in the tournament. A win against the surprise Irish could be enough to push them among the last four in. Notre Dame’s stunning Harangody-less rally has put them in the bracket but another win would only make their spot more secure.

What has to happen: The Pirates need Jeremy Hazell to play within the context of the game and not take foolish shots.

Something else to watch for: Points and lots of 'em. Both teams like to score and neither is a fan of defense. The Pirates average 81 points per game, the Irish 77.9.

Game 4: Cincinnati vs. Louisville

What’s at stake: Interstate bragging rights for starters. The two schools are only separated by 90 minutes of highway. Cincinnati is a long way from in the NCAA field, but after a dismal finish to the regular season (losing five of their final six) a strong finish would be good. Louisville secured its spot with a victory over Syracuse to close out Freedom Hall. Wouldn’t be a bad idea for the roller-coaster Cards to get some momentum going.

What has to happen: Edgar Sosa has to play smart. The point guard can giveth and taketh away. Sometimes he’s brilliant. Sometimes he’s awful. The Cards need his A game to stave off an upset.

Something else to watch for: Lance Stephenson's return to the Big Apple. The Big East’s rookie of the year didn’t fare so well in his first visit, with just seven points against the Red Storm.

Saddle Up is our daily preview of the hoops your TV wants you to watch. Here's Wednesday night's rundown.

Don't let anyone tell you the college basketball regular season doesn't matter. It does. Wednesday night doesn't boast a single match up between top 25 teams, but it does have at least four games featuring bubble (or barely bubble) teams with a chance to immediately boost their at-large chances. A quick gander:

No. 3 Purdue at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network: Don't look now, but Minnesota has a chance to make the NCAA tournament. I know, I know -- it's a distant chance. But it's a chance. After a 16-point win over Wisconsin on Feb. 18 and a subsequent blowout at Indiana, Tubby Smith's team is at 16-10 and 7-7 in the Big Ten with four games to play. A win tonight would be the Gophers' third in a row, and would give them a much-needed quality win for the résumé. Then, with a win over the No. 3 team in the country in their pocket, the Gophers would have three winnable games -- at Illinois, at Michigan, and at Iowa -- to play. Win out, and that gets Minnesota to 20 wins, an 11-7 conference mark, and serious at-large consideration. Easy, right?

OK, not so much: Purdue is playing its best basketball of the season right now, and the Boilermakers are in the thick of a Big Ten title race with Ohio State and Michigan State. There will be no letdowns. If Minnesota wants to sneak into the tournament, it will be earned.

South Florida at Villanova, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN360: South Florida, much like Minnesota, is nowhere to be found in Joe Lunardi's latest bracket. At 16-10, the Bulls share much the same burden as the Gophers, which is not how the animal kingdom works at all, but that's OK, because we're actually talking about college basketball. Anyway, stay focused: South Florida very much needs a win at Villanova -- not an impossible feat, given Nova's prodigious fouling habit and overall defensive vulnerability -- to stay in the bubble picture. At the very least, fire up your laptop to watch Dominique Jones take on the porous Wildcats. Bubble talk or no, that ought to be a treat.

San Diego State at BYU, 9 p.m. ET, CBS College Sports: San Diego State has had two prior chances to prove itself worthy of an at-large bid. The first was Jan. 23's 71-69 loss to BYU at home. The second was an 88-86 loss at New Mexico. Swap either one of those incredibly close and no doubt disappointing results, and SDSU isn't sitting there wallowing among the first four out. So here you go, Aztecs. Last chance. You get BYU and Jimmer Fredette in Provo with a tournament at-large on the line. You've proven you can play with the best teams in your league. Now you must, thanks to the selection committee's totally unfair and not cool at all focus on "wins," win.

No. 21 Pittsburgh at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2: You already know the story here: Right now, Notre Dame shares two things with the aforementioned South Florida Bulls: a 6-8 Big East record and a fringe chance of making the NCAA tournament. How to remedy that? The Bulls have the better of the opportunities tonight, but Notre Dame has the more winnable. The only problem? Luke Harangody is expected to sit out again for the Irish, a knee injury that's come at the worst possible time for the perennially bubble-bound team.

Everywhere else: Both of these teams are already in the tournament, so they get shoved all the way down here to the flotsam, but tonight's best game is no doubt Oklahoma State at Texas, where Texas will experience life without Dogus Balbay for the first time ... There's also Texas A&M at Baylor, a match up of two very capable and tourney-ready Big 12 teams ... Dayton didn't fit up top, but it too needs a bubble win over Temple to make a late case for tournament inclusion ... UTEP will try to continue its conference dominance at Southern Miss ... Virginia Tech can't afford to lose to Boston College ... Florida State at North Carolina will be on your television whether you like it or not ... Xavier will go to St. Louis in tonight's other big A-10 match up ... And Clemson will play at Maryland as the Terps try to keep edging toward that elusive bracketology respect.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club, which awards the Naismith each year, has narrowed its preseason list of 50 "watch" players down to the much more manageable 30 -- what it calls its midseason candidates list, even if, on Feb. 24, the whole "midseason" thing is a bit of a misnomer. But that's beside the point. The point is that we have 30 players to mull over now. True, most of the list won't even crack consideration for the final player of the year award, which is almost certainly going to go to Ohio State's Evan Turner or Kentucky's John Wall. But the tally is fun to look at anyway.

One minor quibble: The list of 30 manages to include six ACC players -- just one behind the Big East's leading seven -- without including Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, who happens to be leading the conference in scoring with 20.2 points per game for a 21-5 Tech team that's overcome its horrid nonconference schedule to (probably) play its way into the NCAA tournament. Nothing against Al-Farouq Aminu or Gani Lawal or Sylven Landesberg or Trevor Booker but it's hard to see how you could include those four and leave Delaney off the sheet.

Anyway, the full list is after the jump. Other quibbles? Let's hear 'em in the comments.

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Saddle Up is our nightly look at the hoops your TV wants you to watch. Here's Tuesday night's rundown.

No. 2 Kentucky at Mississippi State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN: Unstoppable force, immovable object. DeMarcus Cousins, Jarvis Varnado. Even if Kentucky rolls over Mississippi State in Starkville tonight -- certainly no guarantee, despite Kentucky's vastly superior backcourt talent -- this matchup alone is worth your undivided attention. Cousins is a dominant freshman with a burgeoning skill set and one of the best interior offensive stat lines in the country. (Cousins gets a ton of offensive rebounds, takes a ton of shots, and makes most of them.) Varnado, meanwhile, is the best shot blocker in the country, and maybe of the past decade -- averaging five blocks a game this season, he's well on his way to setting the NCAA career record for blocked shots. He also leads the Bulldogs in rebounds, many of which come on the defensive end; he's one of the best in the country at that, too.

Unfortunately for Mississippi State, Varnado can shut down Cousins and the Cats can still roll. (Kentucky still has this dude named John Wall. I suppose he's pretty good.) Regardless of the outcome, though, Cousins-Varnado might be the year's best big man matchup, at least until we can get these two to play Cole Aldrich in a game of 21. You should probably watch.

No. 25 Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2: While Indiana is taking its probable beating from Michigan State on ESPN at 7 p.m., you might also flip over to ESPN2, a game with actual tournament implications. (Though I suppose Michigan State could lose to Indiana, and that would have tournament implications ... but whatever, you see what I mean.) See, Virginia Tech is 20-4. That's a gaudy record. It was also amassed against one of the worst schedules in the history of college basketball, and I'm barely exaggerating: The Hokies are ranked No. 344 -- No 344! -- in nonconference strength of schedule this season. They have one win over a team in the RPI's top 50 (Clemson). Their best wins are over Seton Hall, Miami, North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia (twice). Sorry, but this is not the résumé of an NCAA tournament team -- at least not yet. Tonight, Va. Tech gets its chance to prove the haters wrong, notch another RPI top-50 win and build momentum for its backloaded ACC slate, which includes games at Duke, vs. Maryland and at Georgia Tech. Contender or pretender? Tonight, the Hokies have a chance to answer.

Everywhere else: The first game of Jordan Eglseder's controversially short suspension is tonight, when UNI plays Creighton in Cedar Falls. ... As mentioned above, Indiana will try to recover from its ugly Big Ten losing streak as MSU attempts to stave off a letdown. ... Texas Tech, still trying to play its way into the tournament, will go to Baylor, which already has. ... Dominique Jones and Lance Stephenson do anything for you? Cincinnati-South Florida sounds entertaining, at least. ... Less entertaining: Rutgers at DePaul. ... North Carolina will look to build on last week's near-miss against rival Duke with a trip to Georgia Tech. ... Drexel will play VCU in a matchup of putative CAA contenders.

• CBS' Gary Parrish makes a valid argument this morning, and Kentucky's rowdy fans aren't going to like it: John Calipari hasn't exactly denied the burgeoning rumors about the New Jersey Nets job, and if the Nets came calling, Cal would have to take the call, right? Calipari's response to the rumors left plenty of wiggle room: "I'm happy," Calipari said. "This school is committed. As long as they're committed to me and this basketball program, where would I want to go?" Factor in the possibility that the Nets could get the No. 1 overall pick -- and Calipari could keep coaching John Wall -- along with the possibility of signing sudden Kentucky booster LeBron James AND redeeming himself for his previous failure at the pro level, well, yeah. The Nets job isn't out of the question, is it?
• Meet Shirtless Bill, Utah State's portly and suddenly legendary free throw distraction extraordinaire.
• Rutgers stunned a top 10 Georgetown team on Sunday, which probably means more for Rutgers than it does for Georgetown. Georgetown's still a good team prone to the occasional letdown; we knew these things already. Rutgers, on the other hand, might have saved coach Fred Hill's job.
• In other Big East news, Dominique Jones made a bold prediction on his Facebook page late last week: "To all the USF fans who continue to ask and comment about the [Notre Dame] game – we played in 1 of the hardest places to win – I didn't play well but I'm good for a bad game every 10 – but now we are in full effect – and I guarantee 4 more Big East wins in a row – copyright this quote." We'll see, 'Nique.
• Jeff Eisenberg thinks the Tennessee Volunteers found the way to beat Kentucky -- using a 3-2 zone to crowd John Wall, dribbling the air out of the ball, and slowing the game down to a methodical half-court pace. If an injured, shorthanded UT team can hang with Kentucky with 40 minutes with this strategy, it should work for others, too.
• Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun made his return to the Huskies this weekend; meanwhile, a UConn recruit is getting nervous about his commitment to Connecticut, given the uncertainty of Calhoun's future.
• John Gasaway on why the Syracuse Orangemen, despite being a very good team, aren't a great one. One major reason? Turnovers.
• Billy Donovan is relatively furious after his team's loss to Xavier at home on Saturday, saying the NCAA tournament is basically out of the question for the Gators these days. At least he's honest: "If you're not winning, you're not going to get [to the tournament]," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "So the fact we didn't win creates a situation where we shouldn't even be talking about it. If we win enough games, then maybe we can talk about it."
• Willie Warren is not feeling particularly well.
• Probably the best recruit left in the 2010 class, Josh Selby hasn't narrowed his list much, but he apparently disqualified Indiana from the running.
• Michigan State will likely debut some new uniforms today; The Only Colors has a cell phone photo.
• An argument -- a convincing argument -- for why Lazar Hayward is the Big East's most valuable player.

• The glory days of the Purdue-Indiana rivalry have long since passed, or are at least temporarily on hold. Both schools have had overlapping rebuilding eras in the past decade or so; when Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson's teams were nationally competitive, Purdue was rebuilding, and now that Purdue is a contender again, IU is still digging out of its post-Sampson crater. But that doesn't diminish what the rivalry means to people in Indiana. In Indiana, you're either a Boilermaker or a Hoosier, and there's no room -- whether in the workplace, or at school, or on the troll-heavy comment threads of the state's major metropolitan newspaper -- for crossover. The best preview of the rivalry you'll read today comes by way of Purdue fan blog Hammer And Rails, which does a brief tongue-in-cheek history of the rivalry before closing with this totally reasonable thought: "This is still a rivalry though. I try not to view it with silly jokes (except for the above section), but with educated respect. We have won the battles in terms of the overall series, but they have won the war on the national scale. Until we win a title or two ourselves, it will be that way." It would be easy for Purdue fans to take this opportunity to stomp all over the struggling Hoosiers, a fan base that likes to remind Purdue loyalists of its five NCAA titles as frequently as possible. Instead, there's respect. Each fan base knows the history and the stakes. That's the mark of a true rivalry. Despite the product on the court in Bloomington tonight, it will still be worth your time.
• When Evan Turner plays Penn State at home, at least one thing should happen: an eye-popping line. The Villian delivered: 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Did your eyes pop? Because mine did. This line caused me to ask my Twitter followers for a good reason why Evan Turner shouldn't be player of the year, and the only good reasonable response I got was "He was playing Penn State." Fair point. But Turner has been doing this all season -- except during his back-injury absence, of course -- and with John Wall's recent struggles and the way Ohio State relies on Turner so heavily, doesn't Turner deserve more love? Turns out he's getting it: AnnArbor.com's staff polled its player of the year voters for an updated result, and Turner now trails John Wall by just seven first-place votes (25-18). There's still plenty of time to sort this all out, and John Wall will have plenty to say about it in the meantime, but it's hard to argue the fact that Turner is the most complete and valuable player of any in college basketball. If you can argue it, please do. But like I said: It's hard.
• West Virginia fans debate the behavior of those who threw junk onto the court, including a coin that hit a Pitt assistant coach, during last night's win over Pittsburgh. The consensus? Kick these idiots out. Though there is one dissenter: "I’m an advocate of throwing eggs, oranges or other produce, in addition to metal trashcans. Whatever was thrown didn’t come from the student section. Not sure there is any way to reverse course and become reputed as model fans now. Might as well embrace the dark side and make the Coliseum a house of horrors where ANYTHING goes." Ha. Metal trash cans. Funny stuff. Wait ... he's -- he's joking, right? You guys? Tell me he's joking.
• I did my best to summarize Dominique Jones' dominance in this morning's M.A.; now let John Gasaway discuss just how good the versatile, attacking guard really is. (One half-baked thought I just had about Jones: He sort of plays the way I assumed highly recruited Cincinnati forward Lance Stephenson would play -- physical, face-up, I'm-going-to-the-hole-now-try-to-stop-me sort of stuff. Stephenson has that potential, but Jones is already there.)
• Andy Katz is out in California, and reminds us that, believe it or not, UCLA is still somehow in the hunt.
• For the sake of mentioning it, Kalin Lucas' ankle is indeed merely sprained. He is listed as day-to-day.
• In other Big Ten-State of Michigan axis news, the current rumor is that Manny Harris might stay in Ann Arbor for another season. This strikes me as a particularly good decision, given how bad Harris and the Wolverines have been this year.
• The talk of a potential NCAA tournament expansion to 96 teams is still just that -- talk. But for the sake of fun, and as a handy way of putting into practice just who could hypothetically benefit from such an expansion, Rush The Court maps this year's 96-team NCAA tourney. The results are ... well, you'll see.
• Can anyone go unbeaten in league play? Who? Why or why not? Mike DeCourcy shows his work.

As always, follow me on Twitter to send me links and tips. They'll get used. Trust me.

Five things to know from Thursday’s action:

1. Courtney Fortson scored 33 of his career-high 35 points in the second half in Arkansas’ win over Mississippi State. Coming into the game a 32.6-percent shooter, Fortson was 9-for-17 from the field and 14-for-18 from the line. With two SEC wins, the Razorbacks have matched their total from a season ago. For Fortson, who sat out the first 14 games of the season, it was just the fourth win in the last 22 games in which he has appeared.
2. Don’t look now, but South Florida has won back-to-back Big East games (and three of four) for the first time since joining the conference. The Bulls are a win away from matching last season’s total of four conference wins, their most since joining the Big East. After beating Seton Hall Thursday, the Bulls have won back-to-back overtime games by a combined six points. This comes after being 1-16 all-time in Big East games decided by five points or fewer. The biggest reason is Dominique Jones. The junior played every minute in both OT games and is averaging 28.6 ppg over his last seven.
3. Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried became the seventh player this season to register a 20-point, 20-rebound game in a win at Tennessee State. Morehead State has now won 11-straight games, the second longest active win streak in the nation. Over that span, Faried has registered at least 12 rebounds in every game and is averaging 17.4 ppg and 15.5 rpg. He is the nation’s leading rebounder at 13.7 rpg playing on a team that ranks fourth in the nation in rebounding differential.
4. After crushing Duquesne 86-50, Xavier has won 28-straight conference home games, the second longest streak in A-10 history. For the Dukes, it was the same old story, shooting just 4-for-24 from 3-point range. Duquesne is the worst 3-point shooting team in the nation at just 24.8 percent. The Dukes have only shot better than 30 percent from long distance five times this season, and they are 5-0 in those games. Yet, Duquesne is still averaging over 20 attempts per game, and every player in the starting lineup in averaging at least two attempts. To make matters worse, the Dukes are also the seventh worst free throw shooting team in the nation.
5. Not too long ago Arizona State was 4-2 in the Pac-10 heading into a three-game homestand that could have separated them from the pack. But after losing to California, the Sun Devils have lost their first two games of the homestand, as their notoriously strong defense has failed them. Prior to this losing streak, Arizona State had the nation’s top scoring defense, allowing only 54.7 ppg. They’ve since given up 77 and 78 in back-to-back games where their opponent shot over 50 percent. It hasn’t all been their fault though. Arizona and Cal combined to shoot 90.5 percent from the line in those games.