ESPN Men's Basketball

Analysts and Vegas oddsmakers may be giving an edge to Kentucky in its Final Four matchup with Louisville on Saturday, but off the court the Cardinals may walk away as the big winner, regardless of the score.

It’s quite likely Louisville will end up as the more successful program once dollars are counted. It’s happened before: Louisville’s net revenue from men’s basketball was higher than any other program in the country last year. At $27.5 million, it dwarfed Kentucky’s $6.5 million, according to NCAA data.

It would be easy to conclude that Louisville’s inaugural season in the KFC Yum! Center propelled the program to its revenue highs. But in Louisville’s last year at Freedom Hall, it still made $11.6 million more than Kentucky.

What about the fact that Louisville sells alcohol at basketball games? The athletic department receives only 50 percent of concession revenue at KFC Yum! Center, which netted out to $421,000 last season.

The biggest difference between the schools comes in a category the NCAA calls “contributions,” which include donations to the athletic department, the majority of which come from the minimum donations people must make to be eligible for suites and other premium seating.

Louisville received more than $20.2 million in basketball-related contributions last year. Kentucky, which did not allocate by sport, received a total of $14.6 million for all sports combined.

In Freedom Hall, Louisville basketball’s previous home, it made $1.6 million on suite rentals and $10.8 million in ticket-related contributions. In its new arena, those numbers skyrocketed to $5.7 million and $17.2 million, respectively, last year.

How much is Kentucky making in suite rentals and ticket-related contributions? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Rupp Arena doesn’t have a single suite for the University of Kentucky to sell.

While not uncommon (it’s the same at Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, for example), Kentucky is missing out on big money. Tennessee’s suites, added in 2008, each run $35,000 to $50,000 annually. At South Carolina, suites bring in $42,000 each.

Kentucky might not be missing out for much longer, though. The Arena, Arts and Entertainment District Task Force in Lexington has studied renovating Rupp Arena or building a new facility. One key component of the renovation plans would be suites for Rupp Arena. The demand would seemingly be there. During Rupp Arena’s 34-year tenure, Kentucky has led the nation 22 times in home basketball attendance.

The Wildcats’ contract with Rupp Arena expires in 2018, the same year the current renovations would be completed. But the renovations are not fully funded, and it might be two years before they could begin.

University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto has not supported either a new arena or the renovation of Rupp, noting the campus has other priorities that may need state funding.

OK, OK, so "hot new trend" is too much. It's more like "somewhat random occurrence that kind of seems like a good idea, depending on the situation." But it happened again, so I'm calling it a trend. Deal with it.

Of what do I speak? The occasional decision by a small Division I school's head coach to leave his program and join a big-six conference school as an assistant. Last year gave us Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, who left New England to join longtime friend Rick Pitino at Louisville. This offseason, the latest to go this direction is Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna, who resigned his post to become an assistant Dana Altman's new Oregon staff.

There are some differences in the decisions, of course. As mentioned, Pitino and Willard are best friends. With Pitino under fire last summer for his involvement in the Karen Sypher extortion, some speculated Willard's hire was Pitino's way of grooming an eventual replacement should he decide he's had enough of the watchful eyes in Louisville. That didn't happen in 2009-10, of course, and it seems Pitino will be at Louisville for years to come.

McKenna, on the other hand, went 43-52 in three seasons with Indiana State. He wasn't exactly on the hot seat -- 43-52 isn't good anywhere, but it's not quite firing material at ISU, at least not yet. But there's no question the Sycamores program wasn't showing noticeable improvement in McKenna's tenure. The move to Oregon is handy, then; McKenna can jump to a major program as an assistant, slightly advancing his career -- or at least making a lateral move -- without risking the indignity of eventual dismissal from his current gig.

Why is this interesting? Because, yeah, sure, it's not exactly a trend, but it is unusual to see coaches decide to leave their head coaching spots for assistant roles, even at bigger programs. Typically, a coach works tirelessly to become his own master. Once he gets the honor, he's not likely to renounce it lightly.

Two such coaches at two semi-historic college hoops mid-majors have done as much in the past two years. Trend it is not. But interesting? Sure.

NEW YORK -- They finally erased the chalk here. After a day's worth of the favorites advancing at the Big East tournament, Cincinnati finally added a little underdog energy to the Garden in the nightcap.

Riding a ferocious effort on the offensive glass, the 11th-seeded Bearcats sent Louisville, the defending Big East tourney champs packing after just a night's stay.

The win doesn't change the Bearcats' NCAA hopes. They're a long way from being in. But hope keeps breathing for another day.

And the reason Cincinnati is alive is because it absolutely pounded the glass. They pulled down a ridiculous 20 offensive rebounds, extending their possessions and frustrating Louisville... not to mention torturing Rick Pitino. Fueled by the work on the boards, the Bearcats chipped away at what otherwise would have been a more commanding nine-point Cardinal halftime lead. Once the Bearcats got the edge, they outworked and outhustled Louisville on virtually every possession.

The Cardinals are still in the NCAA tournament. The win against Syracuse in the swan song at Freedom Hall guaranteed that. But the Cards -- who will at least give injured Jerry Smith time to rest with their early flight home -- had better regroup quickly if they don't want their NCAA visit to be equally brief.

NEW YORK -- Louisville will be without the services of senior Jerry Smith later tonight when the Cardinals face Cincinnati. Louisville sports information director Kenny Klein said that Smith won't play as he nurses a hand injury suffered in the regular-season finale against Syracuse.

Klein said Smith will be day to day for the remainder of the season.

Saddle Up is our daily preview of the day's best basketball action. We're officially into that oh-so-awesome part of the season when a healthy portion of your daily hoops regimen will be happening during the day, necessitating Saddle Up's move to the morning. So let's do this.

Because trying to Saddle Up for every specific game on today's raucous conference tournament slate seems somewhat foolish (if not downright impossible) let's instead highlight five numbers, concepts or jargon you should watch out for in the next, oh, 16 hours or so. We'll cover every single game tomorrow, when the task is especially Sisyphean. More fun that way, right?

Special note: I'll be chatting the entire day starting at 12 p.m., alongside Brett, Diamond, and a whole batch of the college hoops faces you know and love. Join us, won't you?

OK, onto the things:

1. Big East bubble madness! The best conference in all the land features at least three teams sitting soundly on the bubble entering today's games -- Seton Hall (probably out), South Florida (probably out) and Notre Dame (probably in). South Florida has the best chance of all three to make an impression on the committee with its second-round game against No. 22 Georgetown. The Hoyas are still a ranked, talented team, but one that's very susceptible to upset, and the Bulls have the confidence of knowing they can beat John Thompson III's team anywhere in the country. (Thanks to Dominique Jones' 29 points and eight rebounds, the Bulls beat Georgetown at the Verizon Center on Feb. 3.)

South Florida's bubble standing will have a lot to do with how Seton Hall -- first-round survivors of one of the craziest games you'll ever see -- fares against Notre Dame. The Pirates have played themselves back into the tournament conversation in recent weeks; beating a hot Notre Dame team in the midst of its own late-season tournament run would be a nice little boost. One of the worst in the conference on the defensive end, Seton Hall will have to either find a way to stop Notre Dame's league-leading points-per-possession numbers ... or do its best to keep pace. Either way, both games should be entertaining. (And South Florida-Georgetown tips in a few minutes. Get that ESPN360 loaded!) Oh, and don't forget about Cincinnati, which could use a win over Louisville and then some to get back into bubbleland.

2. Big 12 bubble sadness! The Big East is full of bubble and seeding implications. The Big 12? Not so much. Joe Lunardi currently lists the Big 12's top seven seeds -- Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma State -- as locks for the tournament. The remaining five teams -- Colorado, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Nebraska -- aren't at all on the bubble. It would take a momentous run by any of those five to mean something for bubble purposes. Do any of them have what it takes? Eh. Doubtful. But funny things happen in tournaments, and if any of the bottom five have a chance at a run, we'll seed the seeds of that run in today's first four games.

3. It ain't easy being Northeast. Without getting too fatalist, a word of advice for the Northeast conference tournament winner, which will be either Robert Morris or Quinnipiac: Live it up. The Northeast champion would do well to enjoy tonight's celebration, because being in the NCAA tournament and being from the NEC has for 28 years meant one thing: a first-round tournament loss. Yes, the NEC has been in the tourney for almost three decades now, but the entrant has never won a first-round tournament game, according to the uber-helpful folks from ESPN research. If No. 1 seed Quinnipiac finishes the job, the Bobcats will have won the NEC and made the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. And it'll be the first school to start with the letter Q to ever play in the Big Dance. Triple the party! Could a first NCAA tournament win be all that far behind?

4. The Pac-1? Or 2? Consensus on the Pac-10 has remained relatively stable since, oh, November: This is a one-bid league. Arizona State and Washington have both crept closer and closer to the tournament in the last few weeks, but both are still on the outside looking in; Mike Montgomery's Cal team is the lone at-large inclusion. That said, if either team can force its way through the first few rounds of the Pac-10 tournament -- or, obviously, win it -- they could potentially turn the Pac-10 into a two-big league with an option for three. Bad news for bubble teams. Good news for the west coast's most prominent, and most disappointing, conference.

Which is all a long way of saying that the Pac-10 tournament starts today, officially, with one totally forgettable game: Washington State-Oregon. There is a slight bit of drama here, though, regarding Oregon coach Ernie Kent's job. Yesterday, Kent told his players he'll be out as coach after the season is over. Will the Ducks win one (or, preferably for Ernie, three) for the Gipper? Or will they, like so many other teams faced with obvious coaching turmoil, fold in and end the season on a dour note?

5. The big country. Clean air and kitchens full of food aren't the only reason to turn your attentions westward today. No, there's a rather intriguing conference tournament match up on hand -- Weber State vs. Montana -- the winner of which will represent the Big Sky conference in the NCAA tournament. Both are familiar names; the Wildcats and the Grizzlies share the most conference tournament titles in league history, and today's game will mark the fifth time the two have met to decide the title. Look out for Weber State sophomore guard Damian Lillard, the purest scorer you've never heard of.

In many ways, today is the real start of March Madness, though you could just as easily say that about last week, when the conference tournaments really began. But since we have, count 'em, eight conference championships on the line tonight, and since this week marks the beginning of all the power conference tournaments, today rather feels like the start of what will be four consecutive awesome weeks of win-or-go-home hoops. Let's go to the tape:

• Ken Pomeroy breaks down this week's most voluminous, and usually most exciting, conference tournament (who's up for another six-overtime thriller, because I am): the Big East. Can Syracuse rebound from its loss to the Cardinals? It might not matter, as Louisville is safely in the opposite side of the bracket. Meanwhile, West Virginia will look to upset the established order, and Villanova will try to overcome its defensive issues -- which actually didn't show up in its overtime loss to the Mountaineers Saturday -- and re-boost its once lofty projected tournament seed in the process.
• ESPN Insider's LaRue Cook breaks down the historic chances of mid-major at-large bids, finding that conference tournament wins can be both a blessing and a curse for mid-majors on the bubble: "A handful of mid-major teams will receive consideration for at-large bids after strong work during the regular season, particularly given the under-performance of some of their major-conference brethren down the stretch. For those mids -- Saint Mary's, Old Dominion, Wichita State and Siena among them -- a conference crown isn't a must. Instead, our data shows that a single conference tournament win may do the trick. One win doesn't seem substantial, but last season four mid-majors received at-large bids and all of them had one conference tournament win on their resume. In fact, 33 mid-majors have earned an at-large bid in the past five NCAA tournaments, and just seven have not had at least one win in their conference tournament."
• The New York Times' Thayer Evans has a quick rundown of what's at stake in all of the major conference tournaments. In short, a lot.
• As expected, The Mid Majority is all over the mid-major conference tourney beat.
• CAA Hoops tries to summarize the insanity in Saturday's quarterfinals round of the CAA tournament and finds words insufficient to do the tournament justice.
• Searching For Billy Edelin has a handy little Microsoft Paint-drawn visual bubble aid. Who doesn't love Microsoft Paint? Back before the Internet was awesome, Microsoft Paint, Candystand mini-golf and Solitaire were the best ways to waste time in your high school's computer classes.
• With the regular season finished, John Gasaway drops his final Tuesday Truths of the season. Maryland is still under-seeded according to their efficiency margin despite last week's big win over Duke, Notre Dame has added defense to its conference-leading offensive efficiency, Wisconsin is first -- yes, first -- in the Big Ten, and the order of the top four teams in the Mountain West might surprise you.
• Casual Hoya hands out a few post-Oscar awards for its win over Lance Stephenson and Cincinnati on Sunday, which was, according to Hoya, "just the kind of medicine" Georgetown needed before the start of postseason play.
• The Michigan State fans at The Only Colors relish a season-ending win over Michigan. Taking one look at the Spartans' offensive rebounding against the Wolverines is all you need to know; if Michigan State keeps that sort of obsessive second-chancing (not at all a verb, but let's go with it) going in the Big Ten tournament, it could separate itself from Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue just in time for the NCAAs.
• IU coach Tom Crean fired assistant Roshown McLeod, who will not coach in the Big Ten tournament. IU is 1-0 this season without McLeod on the bench; the Hoosiers won their first game post-firing, a nearly blown home win over Northwestern Saturday. So maybe that bodes well for the Big Ten tournament? OK, probably not.
• Kentucky fans might not like this column from CBS' Gregg Doyel, which parrots John Calipari's own consistent criticisms of the Cats: "Calipari looks tired. He sounds drained. And he looks and sounds this way on a Sunday afternoon when his team has just beaten Florida 74-66 to win the SEC regular-season title by two full games. He looks and sounds this way because he knows the heavy lifting is still to come, and because he has a team that is talented enough to lift as much weight as any team in college basketball -- but a team that is young enough, and dumb enough, to drop the weight on its own foot."
• Basketball fans of the semi-nerdy persuasion were no doubt aware of MIT's Sloan sports conference, a collection of some of the best basketball-related statistical and business minds in the world. The conference is of primary interest to NBA fans, sure, but there is plenty of interesting stuff that spans into college hoops, too. Kevin Pelton has a recap, and our blog brothers at True Hoop were all over the gathering from start to finish.

As always, follow me on Twitter to send me links and tips.

Winners from Saturday

Notre Dame: The Irish gave the selection committee another reason to put them in the dance with yet another road win, this time with Luke Harangody and at Marquette -- a team in the tournament field. The Irish are earning their way into the field.

Duke: The Blue Devils likely earned the fourth No. 1 seed with a hammering of North Carolina on Saturday night. Duke also clinched a share of the ACC regular-season title. The Blue Devils passed the eye test of a team that could get to Indy.

Saint Louis: The Billikens won at Dayton, completing a season sweep of the Flyers and finishing in fourth place in the Atlantic 10. Rick Majerus has done an outstanding job with a club that is void of upperclassmen. The Billikens could be a sleeper to win the A-10 in Atlantic City next week.

Baylor: If you’re looking for a sleeper in the Big 12 tournament, it could be Baylor. The Bears ran away from Texas and looked like a team ready to get busy in the postseason.

Kansas: The Jayhawks may have locked up the No. 1 overall seed after winning at Missouri on Saturday. Kansas got inspired play from its key contributors and once again heads into the conference tournament on a high.

Louisville: The Cardinals had to win two of there games this week and did. Louisville beat Connecticut, then lost at Marquette before beating Syracuse on Saturday. That gave the Cardinals a sweep of Syracuse and a likely bid to the Dance in the final game at Freedom Hall.

Tennessee: The Vols did something Lane Kiffin couldn’t do, taking a 17-0 lead on the road in the SEC. Tennessee lit up Mississippi State and had the look of a team that could be a major factor in an SEC tournament that they'll play in their home state just a few hours away in Nashville.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies didn’t have their second-leading scorer in Dorenzo Hudson, survived a nasty moving screen by Gani Lawal on Malcolm Delaney and gutted out a win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Hokies dismissed any doubt about their candidacy with a win.

Washington: The Huskies kept alive their chances of an at-large berth by winning at Oregon State. That win doesn’t get them in the dance, but a loss would have been crushing.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils are in Joe Lunardi’s bracket and they had to beat UCLA to stay in the field. They did, sweeping the L.A. schools this week. But here’s the deal: ASU and Washington are heading for a showdown in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tourney. Loser is out, winner has a pulse.

Memphis: The Tigers had a great week, winning at UAB and crushing Tulsa at home. The Tigers get the sweep of the Blazers. If you’re looking for a second C-USA team to go along with league champ UTEP, it could be the Tigers. They may get a third shot at UAB in the semifinals.

Maryland: The Terps won at Virginia. Yes, UVA was playing without Sylven Landesberg, who has been suspended for the season due to academics, but the Terps still won a road game. That means Maryland gets a share of the ACC title. That’s an outstanding accomplishment for this squad.

Pitt: The Panthers lost to Indiana early in the year without Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown. Pitt could have lost to Providence at home, but when it mattered most the Panthers have come up huge. They beat Rutgers as expected Saturday but that meant Pitt got the No. 2 seed after beating West Virginia and Villanova at home in February. Jamie Dixon has done a phenomenal job with the Panthers. There is no reason Pitt should be No. 2 in the Big East with what it lost.

Losers from Saturday

Rhode Island: Had a shot to convince the selection committee that it was worthy, but lost at UMass a week after losing at St. Bonaventure. The Rams didn’t beat the top three teams in the A-10 (Xavier, Temple or Richmond). URI must win the conference tournament.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs started a must-win game down 17-0. Mississippi State has blown two chances to win a key home game – to Kentucky and now Tennessee. The Bulldogs didn’t do anything Saturday to convince the selection committee.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets may still get into the field. But they gave the selection committee a reason to pause after losing at home to Virginia Tech, sans Dorenzo Hudson, who was hurt. The Yellow Jackets finished seventh in the ACC and had only one conference road win.

Connecticut: The Huskies had an awful week, losing at Notre Dame and then losing at South Florida on Saturday. The Huskies now probably have to get to the Big East semifinals to crawl back into the conversation.

Dayton: The Flyers were teetering on the bubble before the Billikens bulldozed the Flyers late and stole a win. Dayton now probably has to win the A-10 tournament to get a bid.

Villanova: The ‘Cats may have played themselves out of a No. 2 seed by losing at home to West Virginia. Villanova also fell to the No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament. ‘Nova can still make a magnificent run, but it made the journey more difficult.

Kansas State: The Wildcats lost their third home game in the Big 12 by falling to lower-level Iowa State (also lost to Kansas and Oklahoma State). The Wildcats blew a No. 2 seed with the home loss Saturday.

LaSalle: The Explorers were supposed to be a sleeper in the A-10. They won’t even make the tournament in Atlantic City. The Explorers will join winless Fordham in sitting out the conference tourney.

Oklahoma: The disaster season came to a conclusion with a sad effort against Texas A&M. The atmosphere was awful and the Sooners sunk.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels were handed the second-worst loss under Roy Williams. The Tar Heels were embarrassed by Duke and limp into the ACC tournament. It was just awful.

UAB: The Blazers had a huge week with games against UTEP and Memphis. They lost them both and pushed themselves onto the wrong side of the bubble.

Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane got hammered by Memphis and limp into hosting the conference tournament next week. Tulsa was the preseason favorite to win Conference USA.

A few nuggets:

• Georgetown coach John Thompson III said late Saturday night that Austin Freeman felt fine after the game, his first since being diagnosed with diabetes. Freeman scored 24 points in the win over Cincinnati. Freeman missed the West Virginia game last Monday. Thompson told me that the Hoyas will continue to monitor Freeman’s blood-sugar level and don’t anticipate any problems going forward this season.

• Notre Dame got Luke Harangody back for the win at Marquette. Harangody played 11 minutes off the bench. Irish coach Mike Brey told me late Saturday night that Harangody will continue to come off the bench this season. He said ‘Gody told him to use him however he wants to ensure the team wins. Brey said the Irish have become mentally tougher in the past few weeks. The Irish were 4-2 without Harangody, beating Pitt and Connecticut at home and winning at Georgetown.

• KVAL-TV reported that Oregon coach Ernie Kent has been fired and that he was told on Feb. 22 by Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti. No one will be surprised if this does occur, but Kent told me in a text late Saturday night that this is the same story he has heard the past four years. Meanwhile, Bellottti sent this statement out late Saturday night after Oregon’s win over Washington State: "Ernie and I have talked, and we will continue to talk through the Pac-10 Tournament."

Louisville's Freedom Hall is hosting its final regular season Louisville game today; the Cardinals tip off at 2 p.m. ET against No. 1 Syracuse. Afterward, Freedom Hall won't be demolished, but its basketball career -- 54 years, a handful of Final Fours, and a pair of national titles in the making -- will be largely over.

Naturally, this retirement has spawned a host of remembrances local and national, far and wide. Card Chronicle has spent much of the past week discussing what the stadium means to its fans. The Louisville Courier-Journal dedicated a bunch of its pages -- which, this being March, could have otherwise been used to deliver vital Kentucky Derby projections -- to its rather emotional farewell. Pat Forde and Jay Bilas wrote two touching tributes to the arena.

Perhaps the best of all these, though, comes from SB Nation's Jon Bois -- the most talented sports writer you've never heard of; seriously, read him -- in his tribute today. Bois, a Louisville resident, manages to reconcile the sheer boredom with which he views the stadium itself with the purity of the emotion fans felt when that building came alive. A sample:

Freedom Hall, the building, is geographically isolated and bereft of character - two qualities that are uncommon in a college basketball arena. From the outside, it looks like an airplane hangar. It isn't on campus; rather, it was slapped together in a massive concrete desert south of downtown. The desert, which stretches for miles, is home to an expo center, a Six Flags that just went out of business, an airport, and a seldom-used mixed-use stadium. I'm saying that whenever I go there, I experience the urge to take a bunch of high-contrast black-and-white photos, caption them with lower-case pithy descriptors, and post them on my blog (which is probably named "s e e i n g t h e w o r l d" or something equally banal).

Remember fifth period in high school, when you wanted to grab a seat next to the wall so you could lean against it and try to fall asleep? Freedom Hall is made entirely of that wall. It is cold cinder blocks, painted hastily with a glossy finish. [...] Of all the sports venues in the United States, Freedom Hall is surely the easiest to draw in MS Paint. My God, this building is boring. I do not know who designed it but I will bet you ten dollars that his favorite dish was oatmeal.

Bois then pivots to the shared memories in the building, which, he implies, is what gives it the power you've heard about in so many different tributes these last few days. This is an obvious point, but it's worth remembering, especially in an age when we treat a billion-dollar testament to ego of one man in Arlington, Tex., like a national monument: The building itself doesn't matter. The architecture isn't the point. The power of any structure -- whether a bar, or your home, or your high school -- comes from the collective experiences of the people who frequent it, the shared memories you form when you're there. Sports are amazing precisely for this reason -- because those shared memories aren't limited to your family or friends. They're shared among thousands of people you don't know, who you will never meet. But you share them anyway.

That's why Freedom Hall is important. That's why it's powerful. That's why, after Louisville runs out on that court for one last time today, the thousands of rabid basketball fans congregated there will cheer with tears in their throats. That's the important stuff.

• We generalized non-Kansas fans still get about three more weeks -- barring upset, of course -- of enjoying Sherron Collins' tough Jayhawk leadership, but last night was Collins' last game at Allen Fieldhouse, so Kansas fans must begin to come to terms with losing the four-year stalwart. As balm for this grief, KUSports.com built a Collins retrospective with photos from throughout the guard's career. If I was a Kansas fan, this would have roughly the same effect on me as the first 10 minutes of "Up," which you should totally not watch unless you want to ball like a baby.
• Oh, and while we're on the heartfelt portion of today's links, don't miss Andy Katz's fantastic feature on the relationship between Coach K, a father who lost his 7-year-old son to a brain tumor, and the symbols each carry with them every day. (For more Katz, see today's Daily Word on Utah State's familiar position.)
• Mike Miller breaks down the final No. 1 seed. It will be interesting to see if, and how, conference tournaments affect what looks like a pretty large group of applicable teams.
• John Gasaway nominates his player of the year. Yes, it's Evan Turner. But Gasaway raises an excellent point, one that probably doesn't get enough attention: If you're looking for the best second-place candidate, John Wall might not be it. The answer instead lies on Wall's team in the form of rebounding freakshow DeMarcus Cousins. Read, learn, etc.
• FanHouse columnist Greg Couch caught up with Indiana and Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., and found plenty of suffering on both sides of the blowout.
• Rocky Top Talk is doing the whole senior-retrospective thing too; today's player is Wayne Chism.
• ChicagoNow.com -- which totally needs an exclamation point at the end of its name, like Yahoo!; ChicagoNow! -- serves up a little coach carousel rumor-mill grist with some speculation on ESPN analyst Steve Lavin's chances of taking the vacant DePaul job. Lavin would be a nice pull for the Demons, but it's hard to imagine the analyst leaving a job he routinely praises for the likes of DePaul's flagging program. And really, what better job is there than TV college hoops analyst?
• Speaking of coach carousel rumor-mill grist, the Va. Tech fans at Gobbler Country are fretting over the possibility, however slight, that head coach Seth Greenberg could one day try to take on a rebuilding project at St. John's.
• Tonight is Louisville's last home game at historic Freedom Hall. Pat Forde covered the retirement of the Hall in this week's Minutes. Likewise, Cardinals fans -- most of whom have lived their whole lives with Freedom Hall as their sporting center -- are taking stock.
• The Mid-Majority is predictably amped about conference tournament season, when most of the teams below the Red Line play their most important and consistently surprising basketball.
• For a typically comprehensive recap of those conference tournaments, SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean has you covered.
• Sports Illustrated's George Schroeder is the latest writer to proclaim Ernie Kent's Oregon career over: "Matthew Knight Arena -- a $200 million palace named for Nike boss Phil Knight's deceased son -- rises a couple of blocks from Oregon's venerable McArthur Court. It's scheduled for completion in time for conference play next season. If it's the house Knight paid for, Kent's teams built it. But he's not going to coach in it. No one's saying so yet, but the signs are undeniable. Kent barely survived a year ago, after winning just eight games. The expectations were clear coming into this season: Win. Yet even after victories at USC and UCLA last week, Oregon is 14-14 overall and in last place in the Pac-10 at 6-10 (and keep in mind, the league is as down as it's been in many years)."
• CBS has a multimedia breakdown of "bracket science" -- in other words, the mathematical chances assigned to each seed's success based on the history of the tournament. It doesn't factor in teams, obviously, but it's an interesting look at the way a completely mathematical bracket plays out.
• Not just anyone can put on a plaid jacket and a pair of big-rim glasses and look like Jim Boeheim ... but this Syracuse fan, the winner of a photo contest at Syracuse.com, came awfully close.

As always, follow me on Twitter to send me links and tips.

The Morning After is our semi-daily recap of the night's best action. Try not to make it awkward.

No. 7 Ohio State 73, Illinois 57: There were zero upsets to speak of last night, and Illinois' bid for a tournament-securing win at Ohio State was no different. Instead, the night was a feel-good Buckeye festival. Thad Matta's team secured a share of the Big Ten title. Evan Turner got a national spotlight, not that he needed it (more on this below). And Mark Titus, the by-now-famous purveyor of Club Trillion, made the most of his senior night, notching one final trillion in front of hundreds of Club Trillion t-shirt-clad OSU fans -- not to mention raising a whole bunch of cash for sick children. Really, things couldn't have gone much better.

The most notable performance of the night -- other than Titus', obviously -- probably came from Ohio State sharpshooter Jon Diebler, whose seven 3-pointers for 21 points (this scoreline math is refreshingly simple) helped bury the Illini in the second half. After the game, though, the only national topic was Turner. More specifically, the topic was "Is Evan Turner the player of the year?" Every analyst ESPN had to offer on Sportscenter proclaimed it to be true. The only dissenters? America. In a SportsNation poll, 37 percent of the country voted for John Wall as the player of the year; Turner notched 33 percent of the vote. Which means one thing, America: You're on notice. I know Wall might be the most familiar name, but it's March now. There's no excuse for this. Inform thyself. Wall is a great player, but Turner has had a better season, and he deserves the award. I thought we Turner advocates had settled this issue already -- seriously, you have no idea how good it felt to see the unanimous pundit praise for Turner Tuesday night -- but apparently not. We have more work to do. Turner bandwagon team ... assemble!

No. 19 Vanderbilt 64, Florida 60: Again, no upsets here: Florida, like Illinois, could have sealed an at-large NCAA tournament spot with a win over the sturdy Commodores on Tuesday night. It didn't happen. Still, the Gators acquitted themselves nicely in the loss; Florida held a typically efficient Vanderbilt offense to a mere 64 points on 60 possessions. Billy Donovan's team was undone by its poor shooting, though, hitting 21-of-50 2-point shots and just 2-of-13 from 3 for a paltry 31.8 effective field goal percentage. Even in a solid defensive effort, that's not going to get the job done.

The Associated Press wrap of the game seems to think that Florida significantly hurt its tournament chances with the loss, but that seems slightly overstated. Sure, Florida didn't help itself, but losing by four to Vanderbilt at home isn't the worst result in the world, is it? Florida might have more work to do -- but no more work than before Tuesday, right?

Everywhere else: Cincinnati likewise needed a big win to keep itself in the at-large conversation. They almost got it, but insert the old koan about horseshoes and hand grenades here ... UTEP clinched the outright Conference USA title with a hard-fought win at Marshall ... Missouri's Zaire Taylor almost perfectly recreated Tyus Edney's famous game-winner in a thrilling overtime win at Iowa State ... North Carolina became the second team in the history of college basketball to get to 2,000 wins; one wonders if the current players felt strange holding that 2,000-win plaque, given this season's ugliness ... Syracuse had no problems with St. John's on senior night ... Baylor won at Texas Tech, handing Pat Knight's team its sixth straight loss ... Minnesota suffered a major letdown at Michigan, one which officially puts the final nail in the the already almost-entirely-assembled Gophers' coffin ... Trevor Booker did manly things in Clemson's win over Georgia Tech ... and Marquette shredded Louisville's zone in a 21-point win in Milwaukee.

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

Illinois at No. 7 Ohio State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN: Of any team facing bubble implications to play tonight, Illinois' situation is perhaps the most fluid. A win at Ohio State puts the Illini in the absolutely-in pile; a loss leaves them right about where they are now, if not worse off. Losing would make the Illini would 18-12 overall, the sort of record the committee will not be perfectly thrilled with, and Illinois would still have to fend off loss No. 13 when Wisconsin comes to Champaign, Ill. on Sunday.

The good news is Illinois has proven capable of beating top Big Ten teams on the road before. The bad news is that Illinois' style plays right into the Buckeyes' hands: Few teams prevent free throws quite like the Buckeyes, and few teams refuse to pocket their jump shots and attack the rim quite like the Illini. If Illinois can reverse this trend for a night -- if they can get Demetri McCamey to attack the basket and get forwards Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis some good looks against Ohio State's somewhat undersized, shallow front line -- Bruce Weber's charges have a chance. If not, well, Ohio State is better and more efficient than Illinois in just about every aspect of the game. Things don't bode well.

No. 19 Vanderbilt at Florida, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN: Speaking of bubble teams in need of help ... Florida, come on down. Joe Lunardi has Florida as a No. 10 seed in the tournament right now, but thanks to a close loss at Georgia (which is actually not that horrible loss, given how well Georgia has played at home this season), Florida could use a big win tonight before a daunting trip to Rupp Arena on Sunday.

Make no mistake: That's what a win over Vanderbilt would be. Big. The Commodores have been a steady force in the SEC all season. Their only league losses have been to Kentucky and a blowout at Georgia -- there's that pesky Georgia team again -- and while not a great defensive team, Kevin Stallings' bunch is very difficult to stop on the offensive end. Vanderbilt's attack is nicely balanced between forwards A.J. Ogilvy and Jeffrey Taylor, and guard Jermaine Beal, all who shoot a plus-50 effective field goal percentage. Florida's lack of a true post presence could hurt them against the 6-foot-11 Ogilvy. Then again, Florida's strength isn't its size; it's speed. Make Ogilvy work away from the hoop on defense -- the sudden offensive brilliance of forward Chandler Parsons applies here -- and the Gators can make Vanderbilt exceedingly uncomfortable. And then we can stop talking about the Florida's bubble issues forever. I'm cool with that.

Everywhere else: Cincinnati doesn't share Illinois' and Florida's bubble anxiety -- it's entirely out of the picture, now -- but a win over Villanova couldn't hurt matters, I guess ... Gonzaga would put the cap on another WCC title season by topping Cal-State Bakersfield tonight ... With a win at Marshall, UTEP would seal the outright Conference-USA crown ... Baylor will put its third-place standing in the Big 12 on the line at Texas Tech ... Likewise for Missouri at Iowa State ... Minnesota plays at Michigan in yet another battle of the upper midwest's most disappointing teams ... and deadlocked Big East teams Louisville and Marquette will play a game both teams want, but don't necessarily need, in regards to NCAA tournament hopes. Marquette is involved, so it's a safe bet the game will come down to the wire. That should be fun.

• E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson both told Indianapolis Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns that they'll be back for their senior seasons: "I think we'll be back next year," Moore said. "At least speaking for myself. I can't speak for JaJuan." "That's what it looks like right now for me, coming back to school," Johnson said. "I still have a lot of things to accomplish: a Big Ten championship, a Final Four. There are a lot of things I still want to do in college." In a year that has gone from Final Four hopes to just trying to make a respectable appearance in the NCAA tournament, this is good news for Boilermakers fans, and very bad news for the rest of the Big Ten.
• Gary Parrish ranked Syracuse No. 2 in his poll this week. Naturally, Syracuse fans handled this in totally reasonable fashion. Just kidding: Hundreds of seriously affronted Syracuse fans blew him up on Twitter and asked him to quit his job, one of whom is threatening to sue him for saying she looks like a boy. People, people, please! It's just the top 25 poll. It means nothing. Please stop freaking out about these things. You'll be so much happier that way.
• An analysis prepared by a boutique Chicago investment bank found the Big Ten stands to gain money from conference expansion, which will put to ease the concerns of those worried an additional Big Ten team would actually cause the conference's teams to lose money. According to sources, "a Big East school joining the Big Ten would have to pay $5 million as a 'loyalty clause' fee." Oh, college sports. It's like you're trying to draw comparisons with the mob.
• Another minor news item: Dismissed Tennessee forward Tyler Smith signed a two-month contract to play in Turkey, after which he will conceivably make a run at the NBA draft.
• Yesterday, Binghamton removed itself from the America East tourney, effectively ending the Bears' season in the wake of the SUNY report heard 'round the world. Today, Rush the Court questions that logic, saying its unfair to the players who stuck around this year despite the program's woes: "It was bad enough when USC officials threw their promising team under the bus midway through the 09-10 season, but the players who remained at Binghamton along with interim coach Mark Macon made the best of a horrible situation this year and actually far exceeded expectations. The Bearcats finished 8-8 in the conference and were scheduled to be the #5 seed in the tournament. In a year without a truly dominant Am East team, imagine the story if Binghamton had been able to claw its way to the NCAA Tournament again this year! It doesn’t make a whit of sense to us to punish the remaining players for prior transgressions, but the school has consistently made poor decisions in this arena for some time now, so it shouldn’t surprise us."
• Oh, and meanwhile: Poor Fordham.
• Seth Davis returns with another addition of "Coaches Say The Darnedest Things (When They Know They're Off The Record)." This week's version of no-holds-barred analysis from coaches is an enlightening read, but it's also sort of depressing: Think of how much better news conferences would be if coaches were this honest with the media all the time.
• Speaking of coaches and media, Paul Hewitt is still feuding with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Insert cliché about start a fight with those who purchase ink by the barrel here.
• In tempo-free-land, Gasaway runs down the Tuesday Truths while Pomeroy hits us with two batches of conference tournament projections.
• The LeMoyne Dolphins are one of only three teams to beat Syracuse this season -- albeit in an exhibition game -- so surely LeMoyne is streaking through their Division II season with ease, right? Not really, though the Dolphins did put together a solid 18-9 season, including six more conference wins than in 2008-09.
• Arinze Onuaku is worried about future employers knowing how to pronounce his name. He is also apparently worried all the time, as Sean Keeley provides a visual retrospective of the many faces -- read: one face, usually a very stern, non-smiling one -- of big Arinze.
• Kalin Lucas isn't a big-time NBA prospect by any means, but at least one writer thinks he's being slept on in the NBA draft discussion.
• Finally, in advance of the night's fun, Card Chronicle puts together a recap of the 10 best Marquette-Louisville games in the history of the series.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pregame thoughts from Freedom Hall:

There are 14 NBA scouts credentialed for tonight’s Georgetown-Louisville game, most of them here to see the strongman contest between two very good big men: Greg Monroe of the Hoyas and Samardo Samuels of the Cardinals. Monroe is averaging 15.7 points, 9. 4 rebounds and also leads the team in assists and blocked shots. Samuels is averaging 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and has been wearing out a trail to the foul line in recent games. Whichever star sophomore plays best tonight could well lead his team to victory.

Louisville (9-5) is ahead of Georgetown (8-6) in the Big East standings but behind the Hoyas in every NCAA tournament seeding projection. Reason: the Hoyas have a significantly better body of non-conference work, with victories over Duke, Temple and Old Dominion. Louisville did precious little in non-conference games, but got a signature victory at Syracuse and has followed that up with victories over Notre Dame and DePaul. With the Cardinals still on the bubble and facing a difficult closing stretch (at UConn, at Marquette, Syracuse), this game is bigger for them.

Georgetown comes in on a two-game losing streak, a stunning loss at Rutgers followed by a comeback that fell short against Syracuse. In those two games the Hoyas made just 9 of 33 3-point shots while opponents hit 15 of 33. Georgetown needs to tighten up the perimeter defense against a Louisville team that can put four 3-point shooters on the floor and get hot on a moment’s notice.

Saddle Up is our nightly preview of the hoops your TV wants you to watch. Here's Tuesday night's rundown, where we find ourselves officially in that "What does this mean for the NCAA tournament?" time of year.

No. 11 Georgetown at Louisville, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2: If you had to guess which of these two teams had the better Big East record, would you guess Georgetown? Probably not, actually, since by merely asking the question I've given away the answer. It is, in fact, Louisville. The Cardinals, 9-5 in the country's best league, aren't just playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament (after looking like an NIT team two weeks ago). They're also playing to hold off the Hoyas, who at 8-6 are trying to avoid their third straight loss, the first of which came in an ugly effort at Big East doormat Rutgers.

The Hoyas' task won't be easy: Louisville's offense is one of the best in the country, and its defense, though still porous, has gotten noticeably better down the stretch. (For anecdotal evidence, see: holding Syracuse to 60 points in the Carrier Dome last Sunday.) How will Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe match up with Edgar Sosa and Samardo Samuels? Can Georgetown prevent a late-season swoon and a slide onto the bracket's fourth line? Can Louisville keep proving itself? If the Big East regular season race isn't your thing, the answer to those questions should be.

No. 17 Tennessee at Florida, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN: If the above game features tonight's two best teams, then Tennessee's trip to Gainesville is certainly the most tourney-dire. Florida needs a win. Is there a route for the Gators into the NCAA tournament without one? Sure. It's possible. Much like being on a boat, anything is possible. (This boat is real!)

Beating Tennessee tonight -- the Gators are 1-8 against UT since Bruce Pearl arrived -- would instantly change Florida's season trajectory from "mediocre and disappointing, so nah" to "mediocre but possibly peaking at the right time, so hey, let's keep an eye on them." The Gators have one of the more difficult closing stretches in college hoops: Tonight's matchup, a game at pesky Georgia, a home contest with Vanderbilt, and a trip to Lexington to face the mighty Wildcats. Win a couple of those -- preferably tonight and Vanderbilt, though some combination of the two with a win at Georgia wouldn't be the worst thing in the world -- and Billy Donovan won't have to pine for tournament expansion quite so enthusiastically.

Everywhere else: Syracuse rebounded nicely from its loss to Louisville by beating Georgetown at the Verizon Center last week; the Cuse will look to continue its road-warrior-ness (totally not a word, until now) with a visit to Providence ... Texas Tech's 4-8 conference record has all but doomed its tournament hopes, but a win over Kansas State might keep Pat Knight's tourney candle flickering for a few more days ... Illinois will try to rebound from its two losses to Ohio State and Purdue at the ever-disappointing Michigan's Crisler Arena ... and after tonight's game at 7-20 Evansville, Northern Iowa will either improve to 25-3 or have doubts as to whether it's an NCAA tourney lock or not.

The Louisville Courier-Journal's Rick Bozich was on hand for Louisville's 68-59 win over DePaul in Rosemont, Ill., today. Louisville continued its recent hot streak with the win, but according to Bozich, it seems the best -- or, rather, the most determined -- performance of the afternoon was not on the court. Instead, it was in the stands.

As Rick tweeted during the game:

Foul-mouthed DePaul student just got booted from spot near Louisville bench by request of officials 75 seconds into game.

Seventy-five seconds into the game -- this is very impressive in and of itself. But it didn't end there:

Mr obnoxious fan returned and taunted official Ed Corbett. Mistake. He just got the ziggy.

And then, just a few minutes later:

Mr. Obnoxious back -- again. Dude has burned three of his nine lives with vocal chords intact. happy I brought ear buds.

So many questions. Did DePaul's security not keep some sort of mental picture of the guy they threw out? And when he came back in the game a second time, they didn't take a special note? And just how loud and obnoxious does one fan have to be to draw the attention of the referees within the first minute of a game? And why keep coming back, if you know you're probably just going to get thrown out again? What level of embarrassment do you have to withstand in the name of DePaul basketball?

So many questions. So few answers. Wherever you are, Mr. Obnoxious DePaul Fan, I salute you. Now sit down, and shut up.

(Hat tip: SBoisNation)