ESPN Men's Basketball

1. The ACC coaches want to get the conference tournament in Madison Square Garden and discussed it at length during the league meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., on Tuesday and Wednesday. But whether or not they can pull that off is out of their control. MSG has long wanted a regular tenant, based on the busy March schedule with outside events, as well as primary hosts the Rangers and Knicks. The ACC is reviewing MSG's deal with the new Big East. MSG is unlikely going to go with a conference that would only make a cameo in the building every so often. The ACC is not going to move the conference tournament out of North Carolina (Greensboro or Charlotte) for more than one year every three or four years. If MSG wanted to maximize the opportunity it has in front of it then it should get the Big East to move its tournament to early in championship week and take the ACC the latter part of the week. If not, then the ACC has to see if it can wedge its way into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn around the A-10, or push the A-10 to play earlier in the week. Meanwhile, as expected, C-USA voted Wednesday at its league meetings to have all 16 teams go to the 2014 C-USA tournament in El Paso.

2. Valparaiso picked up a key big man in Alabama 7-foot transfer Moussa Gueye. Gueye, according to Valpo coach Bryce Drew, can play immediately. Gueye originally committed to the Crusaders before going to Alabama. Gueye blocked 52 shots last season for the Tide. He'll be a major distraction for teams in the Horizon League and give the defending conference champs quite a frontline with 6-9 Bobby Capobianco, 6-8 Rice transfer David Chadwick and 6-10 big man Vashil Fernandez.

3. Colorado and Harvard have agreed to play in Boulder (contract still being signed) as the Crimson make their way to Anchorage, Alaska. The Crimson desperately needed another quality game on the schedule. The Crimson have quality local games at UConn and at home against UMass and BC. But the Great Alaska Shootout lost its other star power team when Iowa backed out of the event to go to Atlantis. Playing Fordham, BU, Northeastern, Rice on the road or Howard and Vermont at home and against Holy Cross at TD Banknorth Garden won't deliver the necessary power-rating pop. Harvard has a Top 25 team and needs as many tests as possible before Ivy League play, where their power rating will drop. Colorado coach Tad Boyle once again is scheduling up. The Buffaloes already had Kansas at home and Oklahoma State at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as headline games.

1. The NCAA offered up an explanation as to why there can be a difference between the Memphis-Derrick Rose and Duke-Lance Thomas case when the person in question chooses not to cooperate and talk to the NCAA. According to NCAA spokesperson Stacey Osburn, if there is more information to allow the enforcement staff to allege a major violation through information gathered then it can go forward. Osburn said if there is a case in which there is no other information to suggest a violation without cooperation then the case cannot go forward. "You can't tell someone you violated a rule if they're not a member of the NCAA or if there is no other evidence to suggest a rule was broken. If there was a major violation there has to be evidence. It can't just be he said/she said. If you have folks who have information and they haven't said anything like an agent or a jeweler they don't fall under NCAA rules. So they don't have to talk to you. If they're no longer a student athlete they don't have to, either unless the school says it will disassociate you from the school. We don't have the subpoena power so we can only do so much." Translate: The NCAA claims it had other evidence in the Rose-Memphis standardized test case (it ultimately forced Memphis to vacate the 2008 Final Four) without talking to Rose but didn't have anything else in the Thomas case and never got Thomas to talk.

2. Harvard made my early-season Top 25 and with good reason. The Crimson beat New Mexico in the round of 64. The assumption was the two best players -- who were suspended for the year with a number of other students from the general student body over an academic scandal -- would be returning next season. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said Wednesday that Brandyn Curry and Kyle Casey will be back as expected. That was always the plan but there could have been a hiccup with neither player being on campus during the past year. Harvard has a few high-profile games next season with the series continuing against UConn and a return games against UMass and Boston College. The Crimson are in the Great Alaska Shootout, a tournament that has waned in importance recently. But the 2013 field is decent with a few teams that could end up in the NCAAs in 2014 like Iowa, Denver, Indiana State and Tulsa. TCU, Pepperdine and host Alaska-Anchorage are the other three in the field.

3. Miami coach Jim Larranaga said he'll know in a few weeks who might be his replacement for Shane Larkin at the point. But he now knows who will be the lead guard in the fall of 2014 with the arrival of Kansas State transfer guard Angel Rodriguez. There's always a chance Rodriguez will appeal to play immediately since he wanted to be closer to his family in Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Georgia coach Mark Fox said he has the player ready to take over for his early-entrant sophomore and leading scorer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Fox said freshman Kenny Gaines, who averaged 3.7 points or almost 15 fewer than Caldwell-Pope, would take over. "He had many solid nights as his backup (last year)," said Fox. "He's a good player."

SALT LAKE CITY -- Mark Lyons has been to the Sweet 16 before. But earning another trip, with his new team, felt different Saturday -- maybe even a bit more special -- because of the position he plays.

“I’m the point guard now,” the Arizona senior (and former guard at Xavier) said after he tied his career high with 27 points to help beat Harvard 74-51. “Last year I was playing off the ball with a great point guard, and I learned from him. And now, I’m back … we’re back.”

The 6-foot-1 playmaker made sure the Wildcats were back -- and on to Los Angeles for the West Regional semifinal -- by pumping up his defense as well as making 12 of 17 field goals.

Lyons and the Wildcats controlled the game from the get-go. While the 14^th-seeded Crimson missed shot after shot -- their first 13, to be exact -- sixth-seeded Arizona built a 17-2 lead. Lyons had seven points before Harvard freshman point guard Siyani Chambers finally buried the Crimson’s first field goal, a 3, with 12:16 left in the first half. But the Wildcats led by as many as 22 before taking a 40-22 halftime lead.

“I think in order for us to make this a magical moment for our team and program -- which we have been able to do at other points in this season -- you’ve got to get off to a good start against a team like that,” said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, whose team shot just 27.6 percent against the taller, more aggressive, more confident-looking Wildcats. “We had our chances. We had some open opportunities early, and once we missed some we kind of got our heads down and they took advantage of it.”

Indeed, even when Harvard tried to chip back -- and Chambers got a chipped tooth in the process -- Lyons was there, doing what a point guard does: leading.

When a Chambers 3 cut the deficit to 44-30 with 17:22 to go, Lyons made a layup.

And when two free throws by Harvard’s Wesley Saunders cut it to 16 with 13:16 left? Lyons scored on another drive.

Harvard never really threatened, but key for the Wildcats was that they never allowed it.

“When we got the lead, Coach [Sean Miller] said, ‘Don’t let up. Don’t start walking the ball up,’ because we have a tendency to let up,” Lyons said.

Not this time.

Lyons also finished with three assists, two turnovers, a steal and a rebound. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he now will become the first player ever to compete in the Sweet 16 in back-to-back years with different teams. He also played on two Xavier squads that reached the Sweet 16, and practiced with another when he was a partial qualifier as a freshman.

“I think it’s remarkable, really,” Miller said. “It shows you how talented he is, and it also shows you the bigger the game, [it] can really bring out the best in him.”

Lyons, who averaged about 15 points during the regular season, is now averaging 25 points in this year’s NCAA tournament. And he thinks the best is yet to come.

“You know, it’s a great feeling,” Lyons said. “I’m playing for my original coach who recruited me, playing with a bunch of guys who believe in me and got faith in me. We’ve been coming together as a team. It’s great to be back in the Sweet 16 and trying to advance.”

 
SALT LAKE CITY -- It wasn’t just about Arizona being bigger. The Wildcats, led by point guard Mark Lyons, also were flat-out better. Aggressive, accurate and defensive-minded from the beginning, sixth-seeded Arizona ended 14th-seeded Harvard’s short-lived Cinderella run, 74-51, to advance to the Sweet 16.

A quick look at the victory:

Turning point: A true turning point never came, because Arizona controlled this one from the get-go. While the Crimson missed shot after shot -- its first 13, to be exact -- the Wildcats built a 17-2 lead. Freshman point guard Siyani Chambers finally buried Harvard’s first field goal, a 3, with 12:16 left in the first half, but Arizona led by as many as 22 before taking a 40-22 lead into halftime.

Players of the game: Lyons finished with a season-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting, and forward Solomon Hill added 13.

Chambers, who lost part of a tooth early in the second half when he caught an inadvertent elbow from Wildcat Kevin Parrom, finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting. Forward Kenyatta Smith led Harvard with 10 points.

Stat of the game: Arizona held Belmont to 39.2 percent shooting on Thursday. This time around, it held Harvard to 27.6 percent.

Next up: Arizona advances to play either No. 10 Iowa State or No. 2 Ohio State in the West region semifinals.

SALT LAKE CITY -- When Siyani Chambers chose Harvard, he hoped to be the Crimson’s starting point guard ... someday.

He dreamed of leading his team on an NCAA tournament run ... someday.

The fact that someday is today?

“Amazing," the 6-foot Ivy League rookie of the year said Friday, less than 24 hours after 14th-seeded Harvard knocked off No. 3 New Mexico for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory.

That word could describe his development, too.

“He’s the leader on our team," said senior guard Christian Webster, whose team will face sixth-seeded Arizona on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. “Laurent [Rivard] and I are the captains, but he’s the leader. He drove this team."

It’s a role the 19-year-old ball handler never expected, at least not this soon, when he arrived on Harvard’s campus less than a year ago. First recruited by Crimson coach Tommy Amaker when he was in the eighth grade, Chambers decided pretty quickly that he wanted to play for the former Duke guard because of what he could learn.

But Chambers also thought he would have some time to be a pupil, while playing behind Brandyn Curry, a Cousy award candidate last season. That is, until September, when Curry and fellow senior Kyle Casey withdrew from Harvard following an academic scandal.

When the freshman heard the news, his head spun. “I was definitely nervous -- very, very nervous," Chambers said. “All of a sudden, it’s your first year, you’re coming in trying to learn the whole process about everything: playing, dealing with school and basketball.”

To persevere, he said, he leaned on his teammates -- and they leaned back, looking for the vocal freshman to glue together a team whose chances of winning the Ivy League all of a sudden seemed precarious, at best.

But Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball exceeded expectations probably because he had no other choice, gaining confidence (and his team’s confidence in him) by becoming a steady assist man and scorer early; he even hit the game-winning basket with four seconds left against Boston University on Dec. 11.

“He’s a special kid, and certainly he plays basketball in a special way, and I think you get excited when you watch him play," Amaker said. “I know when we recruited him, we wanted him to play in that manner; sometimes I thought he held himself back a little bit, and I told him if you ever come to play for us ... we want you to be dazzling because you’re capable of it.”

His season stats -- 12.6 points and 5.8 assists per game -- were dazzling enough to make him the first freshman named first-team All-Ivy League.

But the way he melded his team dazzled, too. Sophomore Wesley Saunders emerged as a go-to scorer (16.5 PPG). Rivard became a scary outside threat (five 3s against the Lobos on Thursday). Kenyatta Smith and Steve Moundou-Missi improved in the post. Harvard finished the regular season 19-9, winning the Ivy League.

So maybe it was fitting that as the seconds ticked down on Harvard's historic upset Thursday, Chambers was the one with the ball in his hands, grinning and carefully watching the clock. That moment is a feat the Crimson hope to repeat against another bigger, more heralded team Saturday.

And one Chambers never imagined when he thought about his goals a year ago.

“I just wanted to come in and learn as much as possible, so when it was my time I could step in and be able to contribute to the game," he said, remembering. “... When I first decided to come here, I did not think this is what I would be stepping into.

“But I’m glad I came here, and I’m glad this happened.”

Now.

SALT LAKE CITY NEWS AND NOTES

SAFETY FIRST: One teammate compared Wichita State sophomore Tekele Cotton to a strong safety. Shockers coach Gregg Marshall? He thinks the guard is more like a free safety.

Whatever the football analogy, you get the picture: The 6-2, 202-pound athlete is hard-nosed, hard-bodied and hard-focused on making stops. And if he can stymie a certain Gonzaga player like he did Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall on Thursday (the senior was brought to tears after his 1-for-12, two-point performance), Cotton knows his team has a better chance to upset the No. 1 team in the country.

“I look forward to being that guy, to chase around their player like I did yesterday," said Cotton, who is also averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. “So I look forward to chasing around Kevin Pangos. I have no problem with it; I enjoy it.”

Pangos, the Zags’ standout sophomore guard, is averaging 11.6 points per game this season and scored the final five points in top-seeded Gonzaga’s six-point survival against 16th-seeded Southern on Thursday. He said the key to competing with a physical team such as the ninth-seeded Shockers is to be physical right back.

“We don’t shy away from that; our team is tough," Pangos said. “We don’t back down from that at all.”

This should be an interesting matchup. The Shockers held Pitt to 35.2 percent shooting from the field -- and just 5.9 percent on 3-pointers. The Zags are third in the nation in field-goal percentage, making 50.4 percent of their shots.

NO ALARM HERE: Zags coach Mark Few wasn’t particularly rattled that the game against Southern went down to the wire; a win is a win is a win right now.

“At this point of the year, I don’t think we need to worry about aesthetics or, you know, differences," he said. “I know it’s cliché, ‘survive and advance,’ but there really is no other alternative. We’re not getting style points and we’re not getting graded -- you know, you either win or your season is over.”

QUOTE-WORTHY: “We know we’re in for a fight, especially the confidence that they have. When you win a game like that, it doesn’t just all of a sudden leave you; many times it carries through for the rest of the weekend. For us, it’s not about being consumed with Harvard, as much as it is about being consumed with ourselves, making sure we’re ready to go.” -- Arizona coach Sean Miller

SALT LAKE CITY -- A year ago, Harvard guard Laurent Rivard was in awe just seeing the midcourt NCAA logo; after all, the Crimson hadn’t made the tournament in six decades.

So helping the program to its first tournament victory -- a 68-62 win over No. 3 New Mexico that marked the biggest seed upset of all time by an Ivy League team?

That, he said, was indescribable. Although he tried: “You imagine it … it’s something everyone dreams about,” Rivard said after scoring 17 points and going 5-for-9 from 3-point range, “but it’s a different feeling when it actually becomes real.”

The win seemed improbable for a plethora of reasons: The Lobos (29-6) were bigger (7-footer Alex Kirk finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds), and more seasoned by playing in a conference many considered one of the nation’s toughest. Heck, some even thought UNM was robbed by the tournament committee when it didn’t earn higher than a No. 3 seed.

But Harvard countered with a four-guard lineup that was sharpshooting (52.4 percent overall, including 8-for-18 from 3-point land) and that frustrated Lobos leading scorer Kendall Williams into a forgettable, 1-for-6 night. Led by their tallest starter, 6-foot-8 Kenyatta Smith, the Crimson also aggressively banged with Kirk and 6-9 Cameron Bairstow (15 points, nine rebounds).

“We knew they were going to be tough,” Smith said. “We just had to be confident.”

And they were, particularly down the stretch.

New Mexico, trailing for most of the game, took a 53-52 lead with 6:26 left on yet another Kirk inside move. But Harvard, even with its three bigger guys in foul trouble, countered with a 7-0 run -- beginning with another 3 from Rivard and including a jumper from guard Wesley Saunders (18 points) -- to rebuild its cushion. The Lobos never got closer than four after that.

“For me to see the composure that we had is meaningful to me as a coach,” Harvard’s Tommy Amaker said. “We had the lead. We lost the lead. We had to make plays and to have an answer each time when things got really tight there. We had to make pressure free throws. … But we didn’t wilt or cave in.”

Somehow, the Crimson (20-9) didn’t seem to feel the pressure of being a No. 14 seed on the brink of making history.

“I was just playing in the moment, enjoying the moment,” freshman point guard Siyani Chambers said. “… It felt like, just getting here, was our night.”

Indeed, not long ago it seemed like a long shot that the Crimson would make the tournament at all -- much less advance to the round of 32.

First there were the offseason academic problems that led the team’s co-captains -- Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry -- to withdraw from school.

And although those departures gave Chambers (5 points, 7 assists in 40 minutes Thursday) the opportunity to develop more quickly, the team wasn’t quite the runaway favorite it might have been to dominate the Ivy League -- as evidenced by back-to-back road losses at Princeton and Penn in early March.

Yet the Crimson endured. And prevailed.

And forget about last year’s awe-inspiring NCAA logo. Now, there’s a new daydream: the Sweet Sixteen.

“Before this, we wanted to be the Cinderella story,” Smith said. “And I guess now, we kind of are.”

1. Harvard won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in program history. The Crimson defeated No. 3-seed New Mexico. Harvard is the first 14-seed or lower from the Ivy League to win an NCAA tournament game.

2. Since seeding began in 1979, the 46-point victory by 5-seed Virginia Commonwealth over No. 12 Akron was the largest margin of victory ever by any team seeded lower than 2. That record lasted for about an hour. Syracuse, a 4-seed, broke it with a 47-point win over Montana.

3. Southern's six-point loss against Gonzaga was the closest by a No. 16 seed against a No. 1 seed since 1996, when Western Carolina lost by two against Purdue. Southern is only the fifth No. 16 seed in the past 20 years to come within single digits of a 1-seed.

4. Vander Blue's go-ahead layup with one second remaining against Davidson was the first game-tying or go-ahead shot made in the final 10 seconds of a game in the past two NCAA tournaments. Prior to Blue's shot, players missed the previous 22 attempts in those situations, dating back to the 2011 NCAA tournament.

5. With Butler's win over Bucknell, Brad Stevens is now 12-4 in the NCAA tournament. Stevens is the seventh coach to win at least 12 of his first 16 NCAA tournament games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only coaches with a better record in their first 16 NCAA tournament games are Tom Izzo and Steve Fisher.

6. Russ Smith had eight steals for Louisville in its win over North Carolina A&T, matching the most in any NCAA tournament game (steals became official in 1986). The last player with eight steals in a game was North Carolina's Ty Lawson in the 2009 national championship game.

7. With its loss to No. 12-seed California, UNLV, a No. 5 seed, became the third team ever to lose four consecutive games in the round of 64 as the higher seed, joining Clemson (1998-2010) and BYU (1995-2009).

Just 5.6 percent of the 8.15 million Tournament Challenge brackets picked 14-seed Harvard to beat 3-seed New Mexico. The Crimson were the second-most-picked 14-seed to win (Davidson, which gave Marquette a scare, was picked in 14.3 percent of brackets). Meanwhile, New Mexico had been picked to reach the Sweet 16 in 19 percent of brackets and the Final Four in 9.1 percent of brackets.

With that result, the number of perfect brackets went from 26,300 (after the Missouri-Colorado State game) to 1,339.

I know the feeling. You’re nervous. You know the big names -- Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke -- but who’s this Nate kid I keep hearing about? Let me help you. Here are 10 mid-major stars who could really mess up your bracket in the coming days.

Mike Muscala (Bucknell) -- The Muscala Monster is a dangerous creature. The Bison are capable of upsetting Butler in the second round Thursday in Lexington because they’re led by one of America’s most underrated stars. He scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a two-point loss to Missouri in January. Muscala (19.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG) dropped 18 points in a win against NCAA tourney participant La Salle in December. He’s finished with 25 points or more in 10 games. He also has the strength of 10 men. Not really, but he’s legit and more than prepared to help Bucknell ruin brackets worldwide.

Nate Wolters (South Dakota State) -- He plays with a chip on his shoulder. Few Division I schools sought his services when he was a high school standout in St. Cloud, Minn. Every season since, however, Wolters has proven he was clearly overlooked. He led the Jackrabbits to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance via a silky game that’s caught the attention of NBA scouts. He’s one of the nation’s most explosive offensive performers. Wolters (22.7 PPG, 39 percent from the 3-point line) recorded a Division I-high 53 points in a Feb. 7 win against IPFW. He’ll make Thursday’s matchup against Michigan in Auburn Hills interesting.

Will Cherry (Montana) -- Damian Lillard is arguably the top player in the NBA’s rookie class. When he was a Big Sky star at Weber State, Cherry was his top adversary. The senior is known for his defensive prowess (1.9 SPG), but he’s a talented offensive player, too. Cherry is averaging 13.9 PPG for a Montana team that will face Syracuse in San Jose on Friday. The Grizzlies don’t have top scorer Mathias Ward, who is out for the season with a foot injury. But Cherry is a proven leader. He’s tough, too. He missed a few games in early March after aggravating a foot injury that cost him the first few months of the season. But he hasn’t shown any signs of regression since his return.

Siyani Chambers (Harvard) -- The West Region is probably the easiest region. With Gonzaga as the 1-seed, it just seems more wide open than the other three. So expect the unexpected. Harvard could spur some madness in its second-round matchup against New Mexico in Salt Lake City on Thursday. The Lobos are the better team. But the Crimson have overcome adversity to reach this point. Stars Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry left the team prior to the season because of an academic scandal. Chambers (12.9 PPG, 5.8 APG, 44 percent from the 3-point line), just a freshman, helped Tommy Amaker’s squad recover from those losses and earn another automatic berth with its second straight outright Ivy title.

Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary’s) -- The senior was a member of the Australian national team in the London Olympics. He’s struggled in his past two games, but Dellavedova will be ready for the NCAA tourney. The Gaels will face Middle Tennessee in Dayton in the First Four on Tuesday night. If they get past the Blue Raiders, they’ll see Memphis in the next round. Dellavedova (15.8 PPG, 6.4 APG, 38 percent from the 3-point line) is not just recognized as a mid-major star. He’s one of the best point guards in America, regardless of level. He’s talented and experienced. And he might help the Gaels nullify your bracket.

Jamal Olasewere (LIU Brooklyn) -- I don’t think we’ll see the first 16-over-1 upset. But if it is to happen, I pick the Blackbirds to pull off the feat. Why? Because Olasewere (18.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG) is a tough matchup for any team in the country. The 6-foot-7 forward is active inside, and he’s efficient in transition. The Blackbirds must get through James Madison in the First Four in Dayton on Wednesday. If they do, they’ll see Indiana on Friday in Dayton. If something crazy happens, Olasewere will certainly be involved.

Lamont “Momo” Jones (Iona) -- Iona is second in America with an average of 80.7 PPG. Jones, who started his career at Arizona, is the catalyst for the Gaels’ offense. He’s averaging 23.0 PPG, third in the nation. He’s recorded 30 points or more in six different games. He’s certainly a potent performer who guides a Gaels squad that can score in bunches. Iona, however, is facing one of the hottest teams in America right now. Ohio State has won eight games in a row, a streak that the Buckeyes capped with a Big Ten tournament title in Chicago on Sunday. But the Gaels play fast (17th in adjusted tempo per Ken Pomeroy). And their defense is porous. Still, Iona can overwhelm teams with its high-powered offense. That’s what makes its second-round matchup against Ohio State in Dayton on Friday so intriguing.

Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso) -- The 6-7 forward from Australia cracked ESPN's "SportsCenter" recently when his buzzer-beating 3-pointer knocked UW-Green Bay out of the Horizon League tournament. He’s one of the top mid-major players in the country. Broekhoff is averaging 15.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG for a Crusaders squad that will face Michigan State on Thursday in Auburn Hills. The atmosphere will favor the Spartans, but Valpo will be tough. The Crusaders are a versatile team with an offense that’s ranked 44th in adjusted offensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy. And Broekhoff is the key to that success.

Doug McDermott (Creighton) -- The Bluejays might be the most dangerous 7-seed in the field. They certainly hit a few bumps during Missouri Valley Conference play. Overall, however, they’ve been one of the top mid-major programs in the country. They have wins against Wisconsin, Arizona State, Akron and Cal. They lead the nation with a 50.8 percent clip from the field. Their defense is suspect (78th in adjusted defensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy). But McDermott, their leader, is a legit star. He’s averaging 23.1 PPG and 7.5 RPG. He could really go off in the Big Dance. First, he has to lead his team through a tough opening-round matchup against Cincinnati in Philly on Friday. Creighton is definitely a sleeper in the Midwest Region.

Ian Clark (Belmont) -- On paper, there’s a lot to like about Belmont. The Bruins are a strong squad that’s faced some of the best teams in the country in nonconference matchups. Belmont can beat Arizona in the second round Thursday in Salt Lake City. And a Sweet 16 run isn’t a crazy concept for this veteran squad. Clark (18.1 PPG, 46.3 percent from beyond the arc) is just one of the weapons that the Wildcats will have to neutralize when the two teams meet. He’s a stud who could really disrupt brackets throughout the country.

1. UNLV received good news late Sunday night after X-rays showed that forward Mike Moser didn't fracture his dislocated shoulder. But there is no timetable for Moser's return. The injury occurred a few minutes into the late-possession win at Cal Sunday night. UNLV coach Dave Rice said they will know more of a timetable in the coming days. Meanwhile, the Rebels will go with Anthony Bennett (who has become a star early for the Rebels) and Quintrell Thomas as well as Carlos Lopez-Sosa in Moser's absence. But the Rebels due get an infusion of a big-time talent when Pitt transfer Khem Birch is eligible for next Monday's game at UTEP.

2. The Xavier staff that took the team to the Elite Eight and lost to Duke in 2004 has had quite a rise in the coaching profession this season. The head coach was Thad Matta. The top three assistants are all undefeated as head coaches so far: Sean Miller at Arizona, John Groce at Illinois and Alan Major at Charlotte. The latter two are by far the most surprising. Groce has been dubbed a rising star after the way in which he took Ohio to the Sweet 16. He pulled off one of the most impressive wins in the non-conference with a road win at Gonzaga Saturday night. Major is off to a surprising undefeated start in the 49ers last season in the A-10. Charlotte still has tough games to come but did win the Great Alaska Shootout and knocked off rival Davidson. Miller has the best team in the Pac-12. It won't be a reach at all to see at least three of the four coaches on that staff -- Matta, Miller and Groce -- in the NCAA tournament. Major probably has the most work to do but it's not out of the question.

3. Harvard's staff firmly believes the Crimson will be back to being a potential top 25 team in 2014. The Crimson return their team essentially intact with a rising star in Siyani Chambers. And, if as expected, Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry return from their forced year off (two of 175 students involved in an academic scandal) then this team will be a tough out for everyone on the schedule. The Crimson still have a chance to squeeze into the NCAAs during this bridge season with rest of the Ivy muted at best. Columbia, Princeton and Cornell are all viable contenders but Harvard still may be the team to beat. Casey is working for a non-profit counseling kids during his year off while Curry is working in insurance in Charlotte. They remain in contact with the staff but can't be in school during the forced suspension. Crimson coach Tommy Amaker said he wouldn't have scheduled so tough this season (still to come at Cal, at Saint Mary's and at Memphis after playing at UMass, at UConn) with such a limited roster, but he had no clue the suspensions would occur. Harvard is in the Great Alaska Shootout next season. Amaker is looking for more quality games and said he wants to renew the series with BC and UConn.

Sampson Carter hit a 3-point shot in the final seconds to push UMass past Harvard.

Before we get to the Blue Ribbon team-by-team previews for the Ivy League, here is Eamonn Brennan's quick wind sprint through the league:



Here are Blue Ribbon's in-depth previews of all eight Ivy teams:

Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Penn
Princeton
Yale

This week, ESPN.com is breaking down the nonconference schedules of each and every team in a dozen of the nation's top leagues. On Monday, we began in the South with the ACC, SEC and C-USA. On Tuesday, we focused on the East with the A-10, Big East and CAA. Wednesday was all about the West with the Mountain West, Pac-12 and WCC. Today we focus on the Midwest with the Big Ten, Missouri Valley and Big 12. Now, in conclusion, let's take a look at 10 prominent mid-majors from outside those 12 conferences ...

AKRON

Toughest: Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Nov. 15-18), at Creighton (Dec. 9)
Next-toughest: Middle Tennessee (Dec. 2), at Detroit (Dec. 15), Princeton (Dec. 30)
The rest: at Coastal Carolina (Nov. 9), John Carroll (Nov. 12), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 18), Cleveland State (Dec. 23), Texas Southern (Dec. 27), Coppin State (Jan. 2)
Toughness scale (1-10): 8 -- The Zips could theoretically face Oklahoma State, Tennessee and NC State in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. But Zeke Marshall & Co. have a guaranteed matchup at Creighton in early December. That road trip to Detroit a week later will pit the favorite in the MAC against the favorite in the Horizon League. MTSU and Princeton are also strong mid-majors. It’s a strong start for an Akron team that upset Mississippi State in its season opener a year ago.

DAVIDSON

Toughest: at New Mexico (Nov. 12), vs. Duke (Jan. 2 in Charlotte)
Next-toughest: Old Spice Classic (Nov. 22-25), at Drexel (Dec. 22)
The rest: Emory (Nov. 9), at Milwaukee (Nov. 17), at Chattanooga (Dec. 1), Charlotte (Dec. 5), Wofford (Dec. 8), UNC Wilmington (Dec. 15), at Richmond (Dec. 29), UNC Greensboro (Jan. 5)
Toughness scale (1-10): 8 -- The core of a team that topped Kansas on a neutral site in 2011 returns this season. Can De'Mon Brooks, Jake Cohen and the rest of the Wildcats pull off another Top 25 upset against Duke in early January? It’s possible. The Old Spice Classic field is lukewarm, which gives Davidson a legitimate chance to win its first two games and meet Gonzaga in the final. Solid schedule for a team that’s built to make noise in March.

DETROIT

Toughest: at Syracuse (Dec. 17)
Next-toughest: at St. John's (Nov. 13), at Miami (Nov. 24), at Pittsburgh (Dec. 1), Akron (Dec. 15), at Temple (Dec. 28)
The rest: Northern Michigan (Nov. 9), Drake (Nov. 17), at Bowling Green (Nov. 27), Toledo (Dec. 5), Rochester (Dec. 8), Alabama State (Dec. 10), at Alcorn State (Dec. 19), Canisius (Dec. 30)
Toughness scale (1-10): 9 -- Detroit’s mid-December meeting with Syracuse is the toughest game on its nonconference slate. But the Horizon League favorite earns a 9 based on their “next-toughest” matchups. The Titans will play three teams (Pitt, Temple and Miami, all on the road) that could finish top-five in their respective leagues and earn NCAA tournament bids. Legitimate shots at top-50 RPI wins for Ray McCallum Sr.’s squad.

HARVARD

Toughest: at Saint Joseph’s (Nov. 20), at Memphis (Jan. 19)
Next-toughest: at UMass (Nov. 13), at Connecticut (Dec. 7), at Cal (Dec. 29), at Saint Mary’s (Dec. 31)
The rest: MIT (Nov. 9), Manhattan (Nov. 16), Vermont (Nov. 27), Fordham (Dec. 1), at Boston College (Dec. 4), Boston U (Dec. 11), Holy Cross (Dec. 22), Rice (Jan. 5)
Toughness scale (1-10): 8 -- Last season, Harvard finally broke its NCAA tournament drought (the Crimson hadn’t made an appearance since 1946). Thoughts of a return, however, have been subdued by the losses of top scorer Kyle Casey (11.4 ppg) and standout guard Brandyn Curry (4.9 apg), who were both implicated in a cheating scandal during the offseason. Tommy Amaker’s squad travels to Cal, Memphis, UConn, St. Joe's and Saint Mary’s -- barometers for this team’s chances of returning to the Big Dance. If Harvard's confidence can survive that stretch, the Crimson will enter Ivy League play with an argument for an at-large berth. But those personnel hits dramatically reduce expectations for the program.

LEHIGH

Toughest: at Baylor (Nov. 9), NIT Season Tip-Off (Nov. 12-23), at VCU (Jan. 5)
Next-toughest: at North Texas (Dec. 20)
The rest: at Sacred Heart (Nov. 25), at Quinnipiac (Nov. 27), Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 1), Fordham (Dec. 4), at St. Francis-Pa (Dec. 8), Bryant (Dec. 29), Muhlenberg (Jan. 8)
Toughness scale (1-10): 9 -- C.J. McCollum passed on the NBA to return to Lehigh for his senior season. After leading the 15-seed Mountain Hawks to an upset against Duke in March, Lehigh is ready to turn more heads with a respectable nonconference menu that will feature multiple NCAA tournament-caliber squads. The Mountain Hawks kick off the year with a tough road trip to Baylor. They will play at Pitt with a trip to MSG on the line if they knock off Robert Morris in the NIT opener. And then two big tests at North Texas and VCU around the holidays. Last year’s upset against the Blue Devils elevated Lehigh’s stock. The program will earn even more credibility if it’s successful in the opening months of 2012-13.

LONG BEACH STATE

Toughest: North Carolina (Nov. 16), at Arizona (Nov. 19), at Syracuse (Dec. 6), at Ohio State (Dec. 8), at UCLA (Dec. 18)
Next-toughest: at USC (Nov. 13), BracketBusters (TBA)
The rest: North Alabama (Nov. 10), at Fresno State (Nov. 25), at Loyola Marymount (Nov. 29), Fresno State (Dec. 3), BYU Hawaii (Dec. 15), Pacific (Dec. 29)
Toughness scale (1-10): 10 -- They've done it again. In recent years, Dan Monson’s squad has topped the nonconference strength of schedule ratings. Long Beach State should maintain that status with a slate featuring five teams that could be ranked in the top 15 of the preseason polls (UNC, Arizona, Syracuse, Ohio State, UCLA). But the foursome that carried the program in recent years -- Casper Ware, Larry Anderson, T.J. Robinson and Eugene Phelps -- is gone. So Monson will rely on multiple transfers and his 2012 recruiting class to battle through one of the toughest opening stretches in the nation.

MURRAY STATE

Toughest: Charleston Classic (Nov. 15-18)
Next-toughest: at Dayton (Dec. 22), Valparaiso (Dec. 29), BracketBusters (TBA)
The rest: Brescia (Nov. 9), Old Dominion (Nov. 24), at Lipscomb (Nov. 26), Bethel (Dec. 4), at Evansville (Dec. 8), Western Kentucky (Dec. 16), at Arkansas State (Dec. 19)
Toughness scale (1-10): 7 -- The Racers should enter the season as a Top 25 team after winning their first 23 games last season and achieving a national ranking throughout the season. After opening with Auburn and then getting St. John's or Charleston, Isaiah Canaan could lead Murray State to a Charleston Classic title game matchup against Baylor or Colorado. Those are the only two nonconference foes that pose an obvious threat for the Racers. Always-tough ODU and Horizon co-favorite Valpo travel to Murray, and the Racers are sure to be given a tough BracketBusters opponent. Still, given the accomplishments last season and the return of Canaan, the Racers can’t get too much credit for this schedule. Then again, high-major programs probably dodged this mid-major powerhouse.

NORTH TEXAS

Toughest: at Creighton (Nov. 9), NIT Season Tip-Off (Nov. 12-23), at Saint Louis (Dec. 5)
Next-toughest: Lehigh (Dec. 20)
The rest: Cameron (Nov. 16), Texas-Arlington (Nov. 28), Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 1), Jackson State (Dec. 8), Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 16)
Toughness scale (1-10): 9 -- Tony Mitchell could lead the Mean Green to a regional round upset of Kansas State in the NIT Season Tip-Off. And if that happens, a matchup with Virginia at MSG could happen, with Michigan or Pitt waiting in the wings. Even if the program stumbles, however, road trips to Creighton and Saint Louis , a pair of Top 25 squads, will boost its nonconference schedule in Tony Benford’s first season as head coach. C.J. McCollum and Lehigh come to Denton five days before Christmas for a meaningful mid-major matchup. No complaints for this slate.

OHIO

Toughest: at Memphis (Dec. 5)
Next-toughest: at UMass (Dec. 19), at Oklahoma (Dec. 29), Marshall (Jan. 5)
The rest: Portland (Nov. 10), UNC-Wilmington (Nov. 16), Wofford (Nov. 18), Hampton (Nov. 20), Richmond (Nov. 24), St. Bonaventure (Nov. 28), at Robert Morris (Dec. 1), Oakland (Dec. 8), Winthrop (Dec. 15), Maryland Eastern Shore (Dec. 22)
Toughness scale (1-10): 7 -- D.J. Cooper is back to help Ohio build off last season’s Sweet 16 run. Memphis is the only team on the Bobcats' nonconference schedule that could stifle the team’s effort to extend that momentum. Marshall will be tough, and UMass and Oklahoma are sleepers in their respective conferences, but the rest of the schedule is simply average, especially for a squad that nearly toppled North Carolina in the NCAA tournament. But remember, that run didn’t make scheduling any easier.

UTAH STATE

Toughest: at BYU (Dec. 5)
Next-toughest: Saint Mary’s (Nov. 15)
The rest: Idaho State (Nov. 10), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Nov. 17), Weber State (Nov. 24), at Santa Clara (Nov. 28), Western Oregon (Dec. 8), at Utah Valley (Dec. 15), Nicholls State (Dec. 20), UC Davis (Dec. 21), Southern Illinois (Dec. 22)
Toughness scale (1-10): 4 -- Before Utah State takes its talents to the Mountain West, it will finish its tenure in the WAC vying with New Mexico State for the conference championship. If the Aggies can win at BYU, and win home games versus SIU and Saint Mary's, they’ll certainly be prepared for another run to the WAC title. But one or two additional matchups against high-major opponents wouldn’t have hurt.

That seems to be the thesis of a story in Wednesday's New York Times, headlined "Cheating Scandal Dulls Pride in Athletics at Harvard." It begins with the story of the Harvard hoops team's recent success -- in March, Harvard won its the first Ivy League title and earned its first NCAA tournament bid in 66 years -- and the rush of real, actual athletic joy experienced by a campus that rarely feels it.

Fast-forward to last week, when Harvard co-captains Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry were among nearly 125 students implicated in a massive academic scandal at the school, and suddenly the Crimson pride appears to be fading. From the Times's story:

“I have foreign roommates who come from university systems where there is no role for athletics,” Patrick Lane, a Harvard senior from Beverly, Mass., said as he stood in Harvard Yard. “So when they see athletes cutting corners like this, their response is to say, ‘Good riddance.’

“And they are not the only students troubled. Some athletes are here working hard, but others avoid academic challenges. You know you won’t find them in a deductive logic course, but you will find them in a much less taxing sociology course. They sometimes exist apart, and collectively gravitate to the same majors, like sociology or government. It’s known.”

Apparently, this Patrick Lane fellow is positively abraded -- abraded, I say! -- at the idea that not everybody at Harvard enrolls in deductive logic courses. Sociology? Government? Pshh! How dare these men of sport enroll in such pedestrian concerns! How unfamiliar they must be with the joys of Hume's skepticism, of the fallacies of the closed world assumption? My dear, can you imagine? And when they leave this fair university, they will carry with them but a worthless piece of parchment -- a Harvard degree in government studies -- upon which their shame will be written! Heed my words, thou scoundrels! For shame!

I mean, come on. Are we serious? These guys are still going to Harvard. It's not like they're majoring in recreational studies. Even the easiest Harvard major carries with it a high degree of difficulty. Otherwise, what's the point of Harvard?

Of course, there have been concerns raised in the past -- both inside and outside the school -- that Harvard and the Ivy League is slowly but surely drawing distinctions of ease for talented athletes, allowing their sports teams to be more competitive. Depending on where you stand on the matter, that is a fair concern:

“I had this notion that Harvard and the Ivies were different, but I guess they’re not,” said Gerald Gurney, a professor at the University of Oklahoma and until last year the president of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. “I know they have high standards, but we also know coaches and advisers find creative ways to place athletes in certain courses and majors that protect them.”

Sure, OK, fine. If Harvard and the Ivies are different -- or if they profess to be different -- then the trend of providing non-athletic scholarships, and making entry to the school less rigorous for athletes, is probably slightly disconcerting. Finding easier academic paths? I don't know. Maybe I'm cynical. Maybe I'm used to the big-state school way of doing things. That just doesn't seem like a major issue to me.

Anyway, that fair concern is also an old one. It's been raised before, time and again, as Tommy Amaker has recruited the most talent to the school's basketball program in its not-so-illustrious history. These are things Harvard and its Ivy League counterparts will have to confront eventually.

What happened in the now-infamous Introduction to Congress class that got 125 students in scalding academic water is something else entirely. It is an entire student body issue -- or a major issue within this one class -- that applies to all range of students, athlete or non-athlete. A handful of students in a group of 125 alleged cheaters were also athletes. That's a small but representative sample.

Why that incident would suddenly cause an indictment of the school's athletics programs is beyond my understanding. If you want to make that argument at Harvard, you could have done so already. If you didn't, there's nothing to see here.

And we don't need to call in the deductive logic prof to help us with that one. It seems pretty straightforward, actually.

1. Northern Iowa actually could benefit from the three-game suspension to leading scorer Anthony James. The Panthers start the season with three winnable games at home -- against Wartburg, Toledo and North Dakota -- before opening up the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas against Final Four favorite Louisville. UNI coach Ben Jacobson said junior Matt Morrison, sophomore Max Martino and redshirt freshman Matt Bohannon will take the minutes vacated by the senior James. So by the time the Panthers get to the Bahamas, they should be even more experienced and with quality depth. No one would expect Northern Iowa to beat Louisville, but if the team is deeper and more prepared off the bench, games two (Missouri or Stanford) and three (Duke, Memphis, Minnesota or Virginia Commonwealth) in the tournament might be more manageable.

2. Harvard is unlikely to make an official announcement until practice starts, but the Crimson expect seniors Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry to take the year off and return to the Crimson in 2013-14, if admitted, after being involved in the school-wide academic scandal involving a take-home exam in a government class.

3. Memphis coach Josh Pastner said the Tigers had their first team workout and it was “sloppy." But that shouldn’t discourage Memphis fans. He’s confident in the development of the newcomers, and particularly confident in the returnees. Pastner said Tarik Black has done a quality job of improving his conditioning, and has become a more efficient rebounder. “He’s got to make his free throws since he’ll get fouled a lot," Pastner said. The junior forward averaged 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds but shot just 59.4 percent at the line last season.