ESPN Men's Basketball

Ed DeChellis and Skip Prosser met in the mid-1980s, a pair of assistant coaches who struck up a friendship, a respect and a mutual admiration for history, politics and the military academies.

"We talked every day," DeChellis said, "and there were a number of times that we talked about coaching at Navy.''

Prosser went to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. One of his players from his time coaching in Wheeling, W.Va. -- current Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik -- played at the Naval Academy during its David Robinson-led glory years in the mid-1980s.

On the four-year anniversary of Prosser's death on July 26, DeChellis took out Skip's son Mark, an assistant at Wofford and a former assistant at Bucknell, one of Navy's rivals. All of these years later, DeChellis is now head coach of the Midshipmen, a move that sent shock waves around college basketball circles after he resigned from Penn State in late May and took the job at a struggling Patriot League program, just two months after leading PSU to the NCAA tournament.

"We spent a lot of time talking about it,'' Mark Prosser said. "He's genuinely excited about it. My father had great respect for military history, read extensively about the Army and the Navy. He would have been interested in the Navy job some day. He was so proud of Doug Wojcik going to play there with David Robinson. He loved Annapolis. I know he would have loved coaching there. I know [DeChellis] will do well there. His excitement level is very high.''

DeChellis spent Tuesday morning watching his players go through an individual workout early in the morning before they went off to their daily classes and ultimately military responsibilities. He was in his office, watching boats leave out of the Chesapeake Bay. Annapolis, which strangely has had to deal with an earthquake and a hurricane in the past week, is normally a serene spot on the water.

And despite the demands of being a coach at the Naval Academy, the desire to perform, the need to live up to the patriotic values, DeChellis couldn't be more at peace with his surprising decision to leave Penn State for Navy when former Midshipmen head coach Billy Lange left for Villanova to return to Jay Wright's staff.

In March, DeChellis finally got Penn State into the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight seasons at his alma mater. The Nittany Lions lost a tight game to Temple in the first round and were headed for a rebuilding year due to the departure of Talor Battle. But DeChellis had at least finally reached the NCAAs after an erratic tenure, which saw PSU go just 117-139 overall and 41-95 in the Big Ten. The Lions climbed out of the bottom third of the league to tie for fourth and win the postseason NIT in 2009, but then sank back to 11th in 2010 before the run to March Madness in 2011.

"If I wouldn't have made the tournament at Penn State, it would have left me with an empty spot in my belly,'' DeChellis said. "We made the NCAA tournament. We reached the Big Ten tournament finals. We won the NIT. I felt like I was leaving the program in good shape. I'm hoping to come here and do the same thing.''

DeChellis said he had three years left on this contract and insists he felt no pressure to leave, especially at a school where the basketball program is just sort of a holdover until football season begins again. So when he got the call from the Academy, he said he owed it to himself to look at the job. His three daughters are grown and out of the house. Two are back in Johnson City, Tenn., where he got his first head-coaching job at East Tennessee State. A third is still at Penn State. But his wife was willing to move.

"I had never been here, but it had been somewhere in the back of my mind,'' DeChellis said. "This was the job Skip and I would talk about was one of his dream jobs. I didn't really understand it at first. But I came here and fell in love with the institution.''

DeChellis romanticizes about the sounds of the chapel bells, the rhythmic tune of the Midshipmen marching, the sight of them in their dress whites.

"This is what college basketball is supposed to be about -- young men and young women performing academically and trying their best to have balance,'' DeChellis said. "Most people have academics and athletics to balance. Here there is a third part -- the military. There is no downtime. There are no naps. There is no hanging out in the room. There are no third-party people coming on campus, no runners, no street agents. This is what college athletics is supposed to be about.

"I was working our guys out in four-man groups, but I'm not in the gym worrying about the next donor or next development meeting or the next development speech. I love being a part of the campus and community.''

DeChellis said he is preaching patriotism in his recruiting chats, and is up front about the military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He doesn't get into the details about whether there are planned drawdowns in both countries.

"We preach patriotism, since this is a very patriotic time,'' DeChellis said. "We bring up the love of country and the recruiting has gone very well. We're getting commitments.''

Navy won 19 games in 2008-09, but the Middies were well below .500 in each of the past two seasons. The Patriot League has had a number of teams rotate at the top, most recently Bucknell and American, with Lehigh and Holy Cross taking turns competing for a top spot, as well. But Navy? Navy hasn't been in the NCAA tournament since 1998.

Could that change under DeChellis?

"I've always felt a guy like Ed DeChellis, his age and experience is really, really good at the Naval Academy,'' Wojcik said. "For me, to have a connection like this through Ed and with Skip, at my alma mater, makes me really proud. I think he'll embrace all of the Academy and any of the restrictions. He'll make it all work. I feel really good about this.

"I tell all my former teammates the same thing. I think it's a very good hire for the Naval Academy.''

Mark Prosser agrees.

"I know he's got a difficult job,'' he said. "But they made an unbelievable hire. I know they'll reap the benefits in the future.''

DeChellis said he has spent considerable time talking to former Navy coaches Paul Evans and Don DeVoe, who both have settled back in Annapolis.

"I've talked to both of them about the challenges of coaching at the Academy, and they all said they enjoyed coaching here the most of anywhere,'' DeChellis said. Evans was once the head coach at Pitt, and DeVoe was once the head coach at Tennessee.

"If I could get Navy to the NCAA tournament, it would be something I would cherish,'' DeChellis said. "My decision wasn't about leaving Penn State but rather coming to the Academy. I got East Tennessee State and Penn State to the NCAA tournament. Now I'm trying to win the Patriot League and go to the NCAAs. That is a very exciting opportunity for me.''

Like DeChellis, Wojcik said he does remember Skip Prosser telling him that coaching Navy always seemed like it would be a dream job.

"Skip realized that this was more than pure coaching,'' Wojcik said. "He knew you could nurture relationships with kids. You have to get there in your career to realize that. We're all chasing the dream of winning the national title. And I think Eddie for all the right reasons is embracing what Skip was preaching 10 years ago.''

Wojcik said the advantages for the Naval Academy in the Patriot League are real, and to beat seven teams instead of a host of at-large candidates each year is something that could work in the new coach's favor.

"It would mean a tremendous amount for them to make the NCAA tournament,'' said Wojcik, who started every game at point guard from 1983-86 for a Navy team that compiled an 82-17 record and went to three straight NCAA tourneys, including the 1986 Elite Eight. He was also an assistant in Annapolis when the Middies played in the Big Dance in 1994, '97 and '98.

"I think he can do it," Wojcik said. "But it will just take time. This is a job that you have to be at the right place and right time in your career. You don't take this to move on.''

Penn State coach Ed DeChellis gathered his team Sunday before practice and didn't hide from the obvious.

"We're 5-4 after the first round of the Big Ten and we've got nine more games to play to make our mark," DeChellis told his team, notably his four senior starters. "These nine games will define you, your career at Penn State and if we're successful in those nine games we've got a great opportunity."

Penn State has had one of the more impressive in-season turnarounds to even be in a position to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in DeChellis' eight seasons.

Penn State, which hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2001, whiffed on a number of chances in the nonconference portion of its schedule, losing at Ole Miss, versus Maryland in an embarrassing 62-39 final, at Virginia Tech by 10 and then by 10 at home to Maine.

It didn't matter as much at the time that Penn State had knocked off what would be the league leader in the MAAC (Fairfield), co-No. 1 in the A-10 (Duquesne) or that the loss to Maine (America East leader) could be at least rationalized.

The win at Indiana to start the Big Ten gave Penn State a false sense of security that things had turned, especially when that was followed up by consecutive losses at Michigan and at home to Purdue, a humbling 15-point loss.

"I wish I could say it was something that turned it," DeChellis said. "I don't know if there was an awakening. The kids were so disappointed in the way we played. The kids just bought in and all of a sudden what we're trying to do -- of preaching defense and rebounding from day one -- happened. I had been trying to tell them that Maine was a good basketball team. We went to Indiana and won, then went to Michigan and fooled around in the last minute and then Purdue beat us here."

And then Penn State went on a run that has put it in position to be relevant for a bid.

Penn State beat Michigan State and Illinois at home in consecutive games, holding the Spartans and Illini to 62 and 55 points, respectively. Penn State was then within one possession of tying Ohio State before losing 69-66 in Columbus, and lost to Purdue on a JaJuan Johnson last-second shot (63-62) in West Lafayette, Ind.

Penn State then held serve again at home, beating Iowa by 15 and taking down Wisconsin by four (56-52), despite being down nine at the half.

DeChellis laid out the scenarios for his senior starters -- Talor Battle, Jeff Brooks, David Jackson and Andrew Jones.

The Nittany Lions have five road games left -- at Illinois (Tuesday), at Michigan State (Feb. 10), at Wisconsin (Feb. 20), at Northwestern (Feb. 24) and at Minnesota (March 6). And none of the home games are a given -- Michigan (Sunday), Northwestern (Feb. 13), Minnesota (Feb. 17) and Ohio State (March 1).

"I told them if they want to get to the NCAA tournament then this is what you have to do," said DeChellis of winning more key games and staying above .500 in conference play. "There are no second chances for the seniors, no do-overs, no feeling sorry for yourself. You've got to commit to defense and rebounding."

Battle can bail out the Nittany Lions if the offense goes awry. But Penn State can manufacture points.

"Our margin for error is not great because we're not a high-powered team off the bench," DeChellis said. "We play our seven guys. That's who we are. We've embraced that and understand it. I told these seniors it all comes down to these nine games. I really believe that. Two years ago we were 10-8 in the league but our nonconference schedule hurt us. Now our strength of schedule is nine.

"Our one-plays in the league were Indiana and Iowa and we're done with those," Dechellis said. "We play everybody else twice."

According to ESPN.com's InsideRPI Daily, Penn State's SOS is actually four. Playing a strong home-and-home conference schedule in the Big Ten will help keep that SOS strong. The three top-50 wins Penn State has are all in the Big Ten against Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin. The only other top-100 win was against Duquesne.

Penn State has drifted in anonymity for some time in the Big Ten, save for that 2001 Sweet 16 blip under Jerry Dunn. DeChellis' best chance to get a bid was two seasons ago when the Nittany Lions finished 10-8 in league play. Ultimately, the Nittany Lions won the NIT.

But the Nittany Lions suffered a major setback a year ago when they were 3-15 in the Big Ten, 11-20 overall.

Having four senior starters and an impact recruit, Taran Buie (Battle's brother), was supposed to change everything. But the nonconference didn't go well overall and Buie was booted from the team after the Maine loss for a compilation of issues from a summer fight to a drinking incident to the need to step it up academically, according to DeChellis. The two will meet in the spring to determine his position in the program.

"I think that [Buie's suspension] was a wake-up call that we're serious," DeChellis said.

The reality is that if the Nittany Lions fail to make the NCAAs this season -- with four senior starters -- they have no one to blame but themselves.

"Our staff and kids would be disappointed," DeChellis said. "Right now we believe we can find ways to win. Some teams hit a lull. I'm knocking on wood that we don't hit that lull since we don't have a margin for error. Sometimes the intangible is a resilient factor, you dig deeper, play harder and get yourself going. There isn't a drill for that. The seniors are committed to making the tournament."

DeChellis said he isn't feeling any pressure to get to the NCAAs. He did receive a three-year extension after the NIT title. But it's clear this is a golden chance with a senior-laden team and the recent resurgence.

"I want it for them, for the players," DeChellis said. "They've worked hard and had disappointment. This would be what they've worked for and what I dream for them. I told them we've got to give what we have and see where this thing ends up after nine games."

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is one of the 10 members of the NCAA tournament selection committee and was on the inside of the decision-making process that led to the change from a 65- to a 68-team field, despite the assumption nationally that the 96-team format was a done deal.

On Sunday night, Beebe emphasized that difference between perception and reality as he deals with the swirling rumors that his conference will implode after getting raided by the Big Ten and the Pac-10.

And that's why we need some perspective here before the assumption is made that the entire current format will be thrown into chaos with a land grab by the Big Ten and Pac-10.

Based on discussions Sunday night with a number of high-ranking sources throughout the NCAA (including those who have been in some of the direct talks on these topics during the past decade), here is some relevant information on the various possibilities:

• If the Big Ten can persuade Notre Dame to join the league, the expansion discussion is over. The Big Ten doesn't need anyone else but the Irish to accomplish its goal of increasing its value. The networks have lined up to get the Irish deal from NBC, and adding ND would enhance the Big Ten television property. All conference television contracts have a clause that they are subject to change if there is a membership change, meaning they can be worth more money (with Notre Dame) or less (if, say, the ACC were to lose members even after doubling its current deal).

• Being in the Association of American Universities is a major deal for the academic side of Notre Dame. If the Irish could be assured that they would get an 11-vote bloc of Big Ten schools to usher in Notre Dame as a member, that could sway the Irish hierarchy to move toward the Big Ten. If the Irish have no shot at the AAU, that could be a deciding factor against their joining the Big Ten. Getting into the AAU makes a Big Ten acceptance a lot easier.

• Romancing Notre Dame has been going on since the 1920s. The timing has to be right. There will be a critical mass of alumni who will want to remain as a football independent. For every other sport, being in the Big Ten makes more sense than the Big East, although this isn't a decision about the rest of them.

• Notre Dame wouldn't want to be one of five additions to the Big Ten. The Irish won't want their addition to be devalued.

• Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick have a longstanding relationship. Swarbrick was instrumental in bringing Big Ten championship games to Indianapolis while working in Indiana with the sports commission.

• Delaney won't get burned here. He's considered one of the most savvy and shrewdest negotiators in college athletics. He's not going to issue an invitation and get turned down.

• If Notre Dame were to join the Big Ten, the rest of the chatter would halt. The Big East could bump up Villanova football to FBS to avoid expansion, or it could add a member to stay at 16.

• If Notre Dame is the only grab by the Big Ten, there is no need to toy with Missouri and Nebraska.

• That means the ultimatum doesn't make any sense. Why would the Big 12 tell Missouri and Nebraska they have to be in or else? What's the consequence? The Big 12 isn't going to boot them out of the league. If they don't get an invite to the Big Ten, the chances are that nothing happens to the Big 12.

• The Longhorns won't do anything that won't benefit Texas. They don't want to leave unless they have to get out. Texas enjoys being the deal-maker in the Big 12 rather than just another school, albeit an important one, in the Pac-10 or even the Big Ten.

• Pac-10 presidents gave commissioner Larry Scott the go-ahead to look at expansion, but the academic profile of schools the league would invite is critical, much like the Big Ten. Not all the Big 12 schools meet this standard.

• UCLA and USC get the most money in the Pac-10 because of appearances. Both schools won't want to lose that status in a new, expanded conference.

• The Pac-10 can only expand and expect to make enough money on a television deal with Texas. Adding random Big 12 and/or MWC schools won't increase the value of a proposed television deal.

• The Big Ten Network deal that Delaney has is based on subscription fees and makes more money than the Pac-10 could on its own.

• The Pac-10's best hope is for a television merger with the Big 12, forming a mega TV deal. The Pac-10 and Big 12 television deals are up in 2012, and both leagues have confirmed discussions on a television agreement.

• A number of sources find it hard to believe that Kansas would somehow be left with nothing. Football drives this, but the power; prestige; tradition; and, most important, ratings of basketball do have serious value. It's akin to leaving out Duke in some sort of ACC chaos.

• Underselling the value of the new $10.8 billion deal with the NCAA tournament is a mistake. It matters. This is a football-driven discussion, but it's not at the expense of disrupting the entire NCAA tournament plan.

• A number of conference presidents are trying to ensure that any potential move makes sense. (For example, did Boston College to the ACC make sense?)

• Boise State would probably take a MWC invite, but does the MWC want to invite Boise State without knowing what will happen to the Big 12?

• All of this is relative to the discussions going on at the Pac-10 and the Big Ten. But so many of the doomsday scenarios could be tamed if Notre Dame were to tell the Big Ten yes.

Ben Howland's right side had been bothering him for about a week. But it wasn't pressing enough to keep him from traveling during a recruiting period.

So, the UCLA men's basketball coach plugged on and flew to Portland and Detroit before coming back on Sept. 13, when he realized the ache was now a pain that wasn't going away.

Howland met with a doctor on the morning of Sept. 14, had a CT scan, and then headed to Las Vegas to Bishop Gorman High School. Still not sure about what was going on with his side, he went back home and waited for word on his results. He visited another recruit on Sept. 15 in Los Angeles. The Bruins were scheduled for their first team workout on Sept. 16. Howland was running around and didn't pick up his phone until noon.

"The message was that there was something with my CT scan, the appendix was infected," said Howland late Tuesday night as he and assistant Scott Garson drove back from a recruiting visit in San Diego. Howland said he had to go to Seattle for another recruiting assignment on Sept. 17.

Not quite.

"The message was I had to call the surgeon right now," Howland said. "I found out at 12:15 p.m. and I was in surgery by 4 p.m."

Howland had laparoscopic surgery on Sept. 16 to remove the appendix.

"It didn't break, it didn't burst and that's great news," Howland said. "I'm just taking it slow. I'm a little bit tired still."

Howland will attempt to take things slowly, but he was slated to work out the Bruins on Wednesday and then leave for a six-day recruiting trip on Friday to Seattle, Portland and Detroit.

What Howland will find when he convenes the Bruins is a team that is extremely thin on the perimeter. The Bruins have essentially three guards to rotate in with sophomores Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson and senior Michael Roll. Howland said freshman wing Mike Moser will have to play, as well. Freshman forward Reeves Nelson will need to play small forward, too.

The shortage of perimeter players is a result of the loss of Jrue Holiday, whom the staff wasn't prepared to see leave after one season in Westwood.

"College basketball teams are playing four guards and a big anyway a lot," Howland said. Howland cited former Bruin Luc Richard Mbah a Moute as an example of a big guard who had to board in college and as a result got to the NBA.

Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt has been bothered by a back injury, and it's still unclear how much he'll be able to help the Bruins this season. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Drew Gordon isn't showing any effects of a knee injury that kept him out of the USA Basketball under-19 trials for all but one practice in Colorado Springs in June. Howland expects Gordon to gobble up a lot of minutes with James Keefe, J'mison Morgan and Nikola Dragovic, the only returning starter. Dragovic is nursing a thumb injury and will be kept in check in some of the early workouts.

The Bruins aren't projected to win the Pac-10, a first in five years. Cal and Washington are projected to win the league. But the Bruins are expected to be talented enough to make the NCAAs.

• Clemson's Oliver Purnell and Notre Dame's Mike Brey wanted to make sure legislators remembered cancer victims in their ongoing debate about health care reform. What neither Purnell nor Brey -- or for that matter fellow coaches Ed DeChellis of Penn State, Tubby Smith of Minnesota and John Thompson III of Georgetown, who were also on the Hill on Tuesday -- needs is to make his appearances political. All of the coaches have fans who are on both sides of the debate, but the one thing that is hard to dispute is the victims in this issue need help.

"Everybody says they're for health care reform but they disagree on how to do it,'' said Purnell. "We were there to say to get something done; get it done now. Waiting for cancer patients is not an option."

Purnell met with the South Carolina delegation, including outspoken members of Congress Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. Purnell was with a prostate cancer patient and another cancer victim "whose insurance was so high that she couldn't afford it and it was bankrupting her. She couldn't get insurance. We were there to tell their story."

"The easy thing is to put it off, but if you look through the lens of a cancer patient, putting it off is not an option,'' Purnell said.

Purnell said DeMint and Wilson said they were willing to talk about it and come up with something.

"They said there is agreement to a certain level, but the tough part is to bridge the level of disagreement and come up with something acceptable,'' Purnell said. "The problem is that everyone wants health care reform but they can't get an agreement. They need to get a bill that they can agree on, that would pass and that then the president would sign it.''

Brey said there were 700 volunteers working with the American Cancer Society, lobbying members of the House and Senate. He said after the coaches did a news conference, they then split up to work with various state delegations. He said they met with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as well as Minnesota Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at a rally that was co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network.

"We were there in the midst of the reform debate and the craziness,'' Brey said. "We just wanted to make sure they didn't lose sight of the cancer patients and to show the progress research has made. We're not in the middle of the debate but we want to keep pushing for a cure to the disease.''

Brey said you could feel the intensity of the debate on health care while walking through the Capitol.

"It was hovering, it was right there,'' Brey said. "This is an interesting time.''

• Quick: Name the top six Big East all-time winningest coaches by victories in conference games.

The first five are easy: Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (356), Connecticut's Jim Calhoun (282), former coaches John Thompson of Georgetown (231), Lou Carnesecca of St. John's (139) and Rollie Massimino of Villanova (123).

I would have never guessed who is No. 6 on this list. Would you?

Well, it's former Villanova coach Steve Lappas (97), who coached the Wildcats for nine seasons, but hasn't coached in the league for eight seasons. But Lappas' hold on No. 6 is fading. Notre Dame's Mike Brey is next at 92. Former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo is at No. 8 with 90 wins, but he'll be eclipsed this season by Rick Pitino, who has 88 wins at Providence and Louisville, Villanova's Jay Wright (85) and Pitt's Jamie Dixon, who has 81 wins in just six seasons. Georgetown's John Thompson III has 61 wins, good for 17th on the list.

The rest of the current Big East coaches' win totals are: St. John's Norm Roberts (27), West Virginia's Bob Huggins (25), DePaul's Jerry Wainwright (21), Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez (19), Cincinnati's Mick Cronin (18), Marquette's Buzz Williams (13), Providence's Keno Davis (11), Rutgers' Fred Hill (8) and South Florida's Stan Heath (7).

Fargo. The name conjures up a distinct accent, a dark comedy, a bitter wind chill.

Nothing about Fargo says college basketball -- until now.

North Dakota State, in its first season as a full member in Division I, begins the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., Saturday against Centenary as the No. 1 seed after winning the conference with a 16-2 record, 23-6 overall.

"Until now, we were best known for the woodchipper scene in the movie," North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips said of the infamous scene in the Coen Brothers film in which one of the kidnappers, well, gets rid of the other in a woodchipper. "There's a lot more to offer. But we are still waiting for the polar ice cap to retreat here."

The Bison are the model for all provisional Division I programs trying to make the jump to full-service Division I. Why? The Bison didn't deviate from their unique way of building the program. North Dakota State has won the fifth most games in NCAA history in its first full season as a Division I member.

Phillips and former head coach Tim Miles, who is now in his second season as head coach at Colorado State, decided to redshirt then-freshmen Ben Woodside, Brett Winkelman, Lucas Moormann and Mike Nelson with the sole purpose that they would be fifth-year seniors when the Bison were eligible for postseason play.

When the players committed, though, the NCAA had required a 13-year waiting period for teams to get eligible as a new Division I member. By the time they started school that was reduced to five years.

"To be honest, when I was a [high school] junior, there was no way I was going to go to North Dakota State," said Woodside, a 5-11 senior guard from Albert Lea, Minn. "But as soon as I got up here and saw the university, I made a 180-degree turn. I loved the university and the coaching staff after I left."

Woodside said the reason the fifth-year seniors were on board to redshirt was to adapt to the speed of the college game. Woodside said he added 20 pounds during that redshirt season. But sitting out was brutal.

"I absolutely hated it," Woodside said. "I was sitting there on the bench, watching my teammates play."

Phillips said the Bison were fortunate the administration agreed with the plan. He said it was hard on the coaching staff watching the redshirts consistently beat the starters and know they couldn't play.

"Ben had speed, but he couldn't hit a jumper. He used that [redshirt season] to put on pounds and increase his range," Phillips said of Woodside, who is averaging 23 points a game as a senior and put up 60 in a loss to Stephen F. Austin earlier this season. "It was hard, but we had the right group to redshirt."

A year later, when Woodside was a freshman, North Dakota State won at Wisconsin. They knew then, that something was brewing.

"That next year we were playing on pride," Woodside said. "We couldn't play in the postseason. Throughout the whole year it was about pride, trying to get the best record we could have. That's what helped us stay motivated during the transition year."

What made it even more difficult for the Bison was when the transition started they weren't in a league. Getting into the Summit two years ago gave the Bison an opportunity. North Dakota State finished fourth a year ago but wasn't eligible for the postseason tournament.

That's when Miles left for CSU and Phillips, a former Wisconsin assistant, was the natural replacement. Woodside said naming Phillips, who coached the redshirts when they were freshmen, kept the plan and continuity in place.

But now the pressure truly arrives. Winning the league and earning a top seed in the conference tournament puts the Bison in position to get an NCAA bid. But North Dakota State still has to win the event to have the plan of redshirting the freshmen come to its ultimate fruition.

"This is their only crack it," Phillips said. "I'm trying not to put any more pressure on them. This is new territory. This group hasn't been given anything since they've been here. It hasn't been an easy road."

Putting the tournament in nearby Sioux Falls helps with the Bison loyal following. Phillips said roughly 150 fans greeted the team upon arriving back from the final road game at Oral Roberts last Saturday.

"There's been a lot of buzz around here," Woodside said. "I think we put basketball on the map at North Dakota State, helped the university, enrollment and all of that."

Some news and notes from around college basketball:

• Pitt's Levance Fields is questionable for Saturday's game against Connecticut. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Friday that Fields is still very sore from the fall at the end of the Marquette game. Ashton Gibbs would likely start if Fields can't go against the Huskies. But it is senior day so the coaching staff expects Fields to give it a try.

• New Mexico coach Steve Alford said the Lobos should be an NCAA team if they win the Mountain West. The Lobos get a share of the title if they win at Wyoming Saturday. Alford had some interesting comparisons of New Mexico's Pit and Indiana's Assembly Hall, as well as some thoughts on UNLV coach Lon Kruger and his Runnin' Rebels' at-large candidacy on Friday's ESPNU College Basketball podcast.

• An emotional Lute Olson was honored at halftime of the Cal-Arizona game Thursday night. The ceremony was well-done and tasteful by the Wildcat administration.

• Cal's Jerome Randle was clutch Thursday night with a deep, deep 3-pointer to essentially defeat Arizona. The Bears are in the NCAA tournament field. Arizona may need to beat Stanford.

• Nice job showing up by Arizona State in a home loss to Stanford. The Sun Devils' seed is plummeting.

• Illinois' defense was a sieve when it came to stopping Penn State's Talor Battle's drive to the hoop with under a second left to beat the Illini. Great scene after the buzzer, but, please folks, let the home players get out alive. Battle looked scared as he was getting swallowed up by the white-shirted, enthusiastic Happy Valley throng.

• The Big Sky should just change its name to the Little Sky. For the second straight season, the player of the year is no taller than 5-foot-6. Kellen McCoy of Weber State was named the league MVP. A season ago, Portland State's 5-6 Jeremiah Dominguez was the MVP.

• Watched UCLA on Thursday and it's clear that the Bruins shouldn't be counted out as a potential Final Four team. The three seniors, Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya, have the experience of three Final Fours to help win close games. Shipp is playing the best basketball of his career, and if the Bruins can defend they can win. Aboya's parents came from Cameroon for the weekend games. It was their first time seeing Aboya play basketball or, for that matter, watching a basketball game.

Do you want to know how wacky Wednesday was in college basketball? The question at the end of the night wasn't whether Kentucky or Florida or Miami or Virginia Tech is in or out of the NCAA tournament picture, but rather, "What about Northwestern?"

That's right. Why not Northwestern?

Late Wednesday and into early Thursday morning, NU coach Bill Carmody pondered the same question after getting home from another stunning road win for the Wildcats -- this time at Purdue.

What about Northwestern?

No offense to the devoted purple-clad alumni, but pondering during the first week of March the candidacy of a Big Ten school that has never been to the tournament speaks volumes about how fluid this season has gone and how tough the decisions will be for the NCAA tournament selection committee come March 15.

"I haven't felt this confident about a team since I've been here," said Carmody, who is in his ninth season at Northwestern after leaving Princeton. "We'll see what happens, but if we can get that win [at Ohio State on Sunday] we'll see. We've beaten some pretty good teams. It's always 'Who have you beaten?'"

And the answer is quite a few quality teams. Strip the Northwestern name off the jersey and just look at the facts of what is now an 8-9 team in the Big Ten, 17-11 overall.

Northwestern has home wins against Florida State, which ranks16th in the RPI, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota -- all teams ahead of the Wildcats in the standings -- and road wins, yes road wins, at Michigan State and Purdue, two of the top three teams in the league. Had the Wildcats not blown a 14-point lead to Illinois in the final five minutes and had they closed out Purdue at home -- a game in which they also lost a 14-point lead -- then a bubble discussion about Northwestern would be moot. The Wildcats would be in.

"There are 30 teams that probably feel like us," Carmody said. "We've beaten some of the best teams in the top 50."

They have, indeed. Six in fact. None of the Big Ten bubble teams have that many. Not Wisconsin. Not Penn State. Not Michigan. Not Minnesota. Not even Ohio State.

OK, if you're not buying the at-large argument for the Wildcats, fine. But why not look at the Wildcats as a capable team that could win the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis? There isn't a team in the Big Ten that Northwestern hasn't beaten or been competitive against. Forwards Kevin Coble, John Shurna and Luka Mirkovic can hang with the best in the league, and so far, so have guards Craig Moore and Michael Thompson.

"A few weeks ago, I would have said no way," Carmody said about winning the Big Ten tournament. "Now I'm thinking, 'OK, we won at Purdue and let's see what happens at Ohio State.' If we do that then we'll see what happens in the tournament. I'm certainly not overconfident, but it's a really nice team to coach and a nice bunch of players."

Here's a fun fact about Northwestern: While other bubble teams are doing everything they can NOT to make the field, the Wildcats are winning key games in the final few weeks. Beat Ohio State and the Wildcats would have a sweep of the Buckeyes, seven wins against top 50 teams in the RPI and a 5-1 finish to the regular season.

That's at least something for the committee members to think about as they prepare to be sequestered.

Some other thoughts on Wednesday and this already-wild week:

• The Big East may be down to one bubble team. Sorry, but the conference looks like it could be a seven-bid league unless Providence can beat Villanova and/or make some noise in the Big East tournament.

• The ACC is eating its own. Georgia Tech beat Miami, North Carolina took out Virginia Tech, and now the bubble in the ACC may be down to just Boston College, which lost at NC State and needs to beat Georgia Tech on Saturday, and Maryland, which is still standing if it can win at Virginia with the UNC and Michigan State wins as its bookends on the season.

• The SEC, well, what do you even say anymore after Wednesday? Kentucky simply had to win a home game against the worst team in the SEC (Georgia) to take at least some pressure off Saturday's game at Florida. Instead, the Wildcats gave up 90 points and lost.

So, too, did the Gators at Mississippi State, making it hard to argue against Kentucky-Florida in Gainesville, Fla., being essentially an elimination game -- for just the right to stay on the bubble going into the SEC tournament. There's only so many way you can dress up a resume that lacks much of the body of work the committee is searching for in selecting the teams.

• LSU did lose at home to Vanderbilt in a bit of a stunner. It doesn't affect the Tigers winning the SEC outright, but it still hurts and they may take a hit in seeding.

• Texas A&M is alive for another day and will play host to Missouri on Saturday after winning at Colorado. But the Aggies were down at one point and a loss in Boulder would have been near-doomsday for their cause. Meanwhile, Missouri beat Oklahoma to suddenly put the Sooners' No. 1 seed in serious jeopardy.

It was fine to point out that the Sooners shouldn't get penalized when they lost two games without Blake Griffin for three of the four halves due to a concussion. But Griffin and the Sooners had no excuse Wednesday. They were beaten by a better defensive and more aggressive team in Columbia. Mo.

• Elsewhere in the conference, Kansas was hardly the aggressor as the Jayhawks whiffed on a chance to clinch the Big 12 title outright by losing to Texas Tech by 19. Alan Voskuil and his nine 3-pointers on Senior Night certainly didn't help.

Oklahoma's loss means Memphis, Michigan State and Louisville are in play for a No. 1 seed, along with the expected trio of Pitt, Connecticut and North Carolina. The Big East could end up with three No. 1s by Selection Sunday, yet get only seven overall bids, two or three below preseason predictions.

*This may be too generous, but barring losses by Gonzaga (WCC), Butler (Horizon) or Memphis (C-USA), my projections have -- including automatic qualifiers -- 57 spots taken for the tournament.

1. America East
2. Xavier
3. Dayton
4. North Carolina
5. Duke
6. Wake Forest
7. Clemson
8. Florida State
9. Boston College
10. Atlantic Sun
11. Kansas
12. Oklahoma
13. Missouri
14. Texas
15. Connecticut
16. Louisville
17. Pitt
18. Villanova
19. Marquette
20. Syracuse
21. West Virginia
22. Big Sky
23. Big South
24. Michigan State
25. Illinois
26. Purdue
27. Minnesota
28. Wisconsin
29. Big West
30. CAA
31. Memphis
32. Butler
33. Ivy
34. MAAC
35. MAC
36. MEAC
37. Creighton
38. Utah
39. BYU
40. Northeast
41. Ohio Valley
42. Washington
43. UCLA
44. Arizona State
45. Cal
46. Arizona
47. Patriot
48. South Carolina
49. Tennessee
50. LSU
51. Southern (projecting Davidson)
52. Southland
53. SWAC
54. Summit
55. Sun Belt
56. Gonzaga (projecting WCC winner)
57. WAC (projecting Utah State)

That leaves eight spots left among 19 teams (in no particular order):

1. Maryland
2. Virginia Tech
3. Miami
4. Rhode Island
5. Providence
6. Texas A&M
7. Oklahoma State
8. Kansas State
9. Penn State
10. Ohio State
11. Northwestern
12. Michigan
13. Florida
14. Kentucky
15. Saint Mary's
16. UNLV
17. New Mexico
18. San Diego State
19. Tulsa

Maryland has to beat Virginia. Virginia Tech is at Florida State. Miami hosts NC State. URI hosts UMass. Providence is at Villanova. Texas A&M hosts Missouri. Oklahoma State is at Oklahoma. Kansas State hosts Colorado. Penn State hosts Illinois and is at Iowa. Ohio State hosts Northwestern. Michigan is at Minnesota. Florida hosts Kentucky. Saint Mary's is in the WCC tournament. UNLV is at San Diego State. New Mexico finishes at Wyoming. Tulsa must win at Rice and almost certainly advance to the C-USA title game.

This should all shake out even more by Monday night. But, wow, just let this wild Wednesday settle in, and think about how Northwestern is in play for its first-ever NCAA berth.

My final thought? With the way this season is going, maybe the committee should value who wants to be in the tournament by earning wins in the final weeks as part of a criteria in its body-of-work analysis. Reward the teams that actually look like they want to go dancing.

Ed DeChellis could watch the game tape from Penn State's win over Illinois for only 40 real-time minutes. His Penn State staff was subjected to the entire 40 minutes of game time.

"I don't know if I'll be in that frame of mind again," DeChellis said Thursday. "I didn't know what half we were in when they said the game was 38-33. I thought it was a dream. I thought it was halftime."

Nope, that score was 17-15 for the Nittany Lions. Penn State beat Illinois Wednesday night in a game that is memorable for its statistical oddities. Illinois didn't attempt a free throw. Not one free throw, not one attempt, and the Illini were playing at home.

Illinois was 15-of-50 from the field, 3-of-16 on 3s and didn't have a single player in double figures. Penn State was 13-of-46, 3-of-17 on 3s and 9-of-11 at the line.

"It was a slugfest," DeChellis said. "We missed open shots. Illinois missed open shots, shots that went in and out and around the rim. Both teams defended well, though."

DeChellis said he's not sure he has ever seen a home team not get to the free throw line.

But the Nittany Lions won. They got a road win. They landed a quality RPI win considering Illinois (21-6, 9-5 Big Ten) is No. 19. Penn State (19-8, 8-6) is much deeper at No. 58.

The NCAA selection committee isn't supposed to invite teams based on how entertaining they are for its television partner, CBS. This is about the top 34 teams remaining after the 31 automatic qualifiers. The process is subjective, but wins and losses matter more than style of play.

"[The selection committee doesn't] care; it's a win and it goes on that side of the column," DeChellis said. "It's not like they won't count the win because we only scored 38 points."

Penn State is in an intriguing position now. The Nittany Lions have won on the road against two of the top teams in the Big Ten in Michigan State and Illinois. The Nittany Lions also have a home win over Purdue. Robbie Hummel and Chris Kramer were hurt and didn't play against the Illini, but the result still goes down as a W for the Nittany Lions.

As for bad losses for the Nittany Lions, well, it's hard to find any of them on the schedule. Losing to Rhode Island on a neutral court isn't awful and neither is falling to Temple at home. In the Big Ten the Nittany Lions didn't lose to Indiana or Iowa, the two teams at the bottom of the standings that have no shot of making the postseason.

Northwestern, which lost to Penn State and has a win over Michigan State in East Lansing, beat Ohio State at home Wednesday to continue to prove the Big Ten's depth from No. 1 to No. 9. "Depth" and "competitive balance" are decent words to describe the league (notice I didn't use "stellar" or "simply grand" or "great" to describe anything about the Big Ten).

"The league is good to where anybody can beat anybody," DeChellis said. "There's a buzz that's been created. No one is going to run away with the league. Michigan State looked like the front-runner [and then lost badly at Purdue] and they still have a game left with Purdue and Illinois. There's still a lot left to see how the Big Ten works out."

Penn State is hardly safe. The Nittany Lions have four games left -- at Ohio State on Tuesday, Indiana and Illinois at home, and at Iowa. DeChellis said he would like a split at the very least. It that happens, Penn State is 10-8 in the Big Ten heading to Indianapolis with quality wins within the conference.

Penn State hasn't been to the NCAA tournament under DeChellis. The last appearance was a rare Sweet 16 in 2001 under Jerry Dunn.

To ensure the Nittany Lions can win these games, DeChellis, beginning with the win over Illinois, had Penn State go back to Defense 101. The Nittany Lions hunkered down on defensive drills to ensure they could defend. Clearly they did against the Illini.

"All I know is that if we keep winning games it will be hard to keep us out of the tournament," DeChellis said.

• UNLV's NCAA hopes took a damaging blow with a 77-68 loss at Wyoming to drop to 7-5 in the MWC, 19-7 overall.

• Utah State's road loss to Boise State got worse once the Broncos lost at home to Idaho on Wednesday night. At 6-6, the Vandals are now just a game behind Boise State in the conference standings but are 12-13 overall.

• Notre Dame at Providence on Saturday could be a bubble elimination game. The Irish and the Friars both lost Wednesday night. A loss to Notre Dame would put PC at 8-7, 16-11, with the only real hope of getting any at-large attention coming in the form of a win over Pitt when the Panthers visit Feb. 24. Notre Dame would slip to 5-9, 14-12 with a loss and would probably have to knock off Connecticut on the road.

• Tyler Zeller moved well for North Carolina in the win over NC State. If he continues to improve, the Tar Heels will be even tougher to defend.

• Tennessee lost again, this time to Ole Miss, and it hardly seems like news anymore. The Volunteers dropped to 7-4 in the SEC East and a very average 16-9 overall.

• Give Auburn coach Jeff Lebo credit for rising above some of the mediocrity this season and getting the Tigers to 6-5 in the SEC West so far, 17-9 overall.

• No other way to say it: Miami (15-10, 4-8), Maryland (16-9, 5-6) and Virginia Tech (16-9, 6-5) are facing some must-win games in the next week. All three lost Wednesday night; the worst of the bunch was the Hokies, who fell to rival Virginia. Here's the problem: Virginia Tech's next three games are home against Florida State, at Clemson and home versus Duke. Miami's next game is against Boston College, while Maryland hosts North Carolina and Duke.

• Northeastern finally gave away first place in the CAA. The past two times the Huskies lost, so too did VCU. This time NU let Georgia State come into Boston and take away a 70-68 win on a buzzer-beating layup by Ousman Krubally as time expired. The loss dropped Northeastern to 11-5, tied with George Mason for second behind VCU, which moved to 12-4 with a win over Delaware.

Minnesota hosts Purdue on Thursday in what could turn out to be a major game for the Gophers.

Sure, a win helps the overall profile and keeps the team in the chase to catch Michigan State.

But more than anything, Minnesota needs to show that it can rebound from another Big Ten setback. The team can do that by, well, rebounding.

The Gophers, who cherish the neutral-site win over Louisville like a prized possession, opened the Big Ten season with a thud, getting crushed at home by 12 to Michigan State. The Spartans dominated the backboard, grabbing 41 rebounds to the Gophers' 22. MSU got 16 offensive rebounds.

Minnesota didn't wilt, though, coming back with four straight wins, including against Ohio State at home and at Wisconsin in overtime.

UM outrebounded the next three opponents and was outrebounded by only one at Wisconsin.

And then the Gophers went to Northwestern on Sunday. They outrebounded the Wildcats by just one, grabbed only six offensive rebounds and wilted in the second half to lose by nine.

"This team does have to learn how to handle success," Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said of his young Gophers. "After Louisville, we played Michigan State and got clobbered on the boards, but then we bounced back."

Smith is hoping for the same result. But he said he's got to trim down his rotation. He said he's playing too many players  citing the 12 that saw action against the Wildcats.

Minnesota has shown staying power so far. The Gophers are in a position to earn an NCAA bid. The question now: Can they come up with enough big wins in the Big Ten to hold onto a spot? Beating Purdue on Thursday would certainly help.

• Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli doesn't dispute the theory that the Hawks are a much better Atlantic 10 team than they were in nonconference play. Familiarity with opponents has helped, but also taking the time to figure out who they are is a reason. Martelli said the rhythm of a conference schedule is also helping the Hawks, who are 9-7 overall and 3-0 in the A-10 heading into Wednesday's game against Duquesne.

Martelli also agrees that no one other than Xavier has made a case yet to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament. That doesn't mean the A-10 can't get multiple bids, but there is a lot of work to do. He said the league shouldn't hold its head in the sand, though, adding that the A-10 is scheduling correctly and that there is stability with a new commissioner taking the league in the right direction.

"We're in a numbers chase right now," Martelli said. "We've got to get our RPI, strength of schedule and [wins and losses] to all line up."

• Even though the Palestra arena and the city of Philadelphia didn't bid to host future Atlantic 10 tournament (Springfield, Mass., Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Atlantic City, N.J., did) the perfect spot really is the Palestra. It's small, cozy and would provide an outstanding environment.

• File this one away: Penn State beats Michigan by 15 and the Nittany Lions now have a better Big Ten record (4-3) than the Wolverines (3-4). But if Penn States does finish ahead of Michigan in the standings by a game or two, don't be surprised if the Lions don't get into the NCAA tournament. The standings aren't the true reflection of the selection process. Michigan still has two wins over UCLA and Duke that Penn State won't get, and if the two teams were ever compared against one another in March, the Wolverines would almost certainly have the better overall resume.

• BC desperately needed to snap its four-game funk, and it did just that with an overtime win at Georgia Tech on Tuesday. The Eagles are now 2-3 in the ACC, 14-6 overall, and not dead yet for a bid if they can beat the teams they're supposed to from here on out. Meanwhile, Tech is still searching for its first ACC win. That's hard to imagine when you watch this team play.

• Gerald Henderson is a stud. When he plays up to his potential he can be one of the stars of the game. He seems to be really in a good groove right now for Duke.

• Still surreal how Craig Robinson's life is these days. He spends Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol listening to his brother-in-law take the oath of office, hangs out in the White House before and after the balls Tuesday night, sleeps in the Lincoln bedroom, and then on Wednesday is making his way to the Bay Area for practice. Oregon State plays at Cal on Thursday. Even during all of Tuesday's historic events, Robinson, who was accompanied on the trip by OSU athletic director Bob DeCarolis, said he couldn't help but think of how his team should best defend the Bears' prolific 3-point shooting.

• Saw Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun and his family walking on the backside of the Capitol after the inauguration on Tuesday. He, like literally a million-plus other people, was in a great mood over the events of the day. Great to see Calhoun so invested in seeing history. He was like everyone else in the frigid temperatures, walking and making his way out. Calhoun was hustling to get back to Storrs, Conn., for practice in advance of Wednesday night's home game against Villanova.

DETROIT -- The NCAA is banking on the Final Four being one of the most fan-friendly environments in sports.

Greg Shaheen, the NCAA's senior vice president for basketball and business strategies, was at Ford Field this week prepping for the Final Four in April. And he couldn't be more pleased.

The NCAA put the floor in the center of the field (as it was for the regional last March) and surrounded it with stands.

For the first time ever, Shaheen said, there will be two student sections, one in each end zone, with seating for 2,200 students in each section. The four schools will each hold ticket lotteries to determine the students who will attend for $10 a ticket. But there won't even be tickets since there will be a state-of-the-art pass system.

Students will be seated with their respective bands to give the Final Four as much of a campus feel as it can in what has been, at times, a bland atmosphere in the spacious domes.

Shaheen said the NCAA is leasing an eight-sided video board that it will use at the Final Four (there isn't one at Ford Field now). The video board will hang from the roof at center court with the NCAA able to control all eight sides individually.

For the first time, said the NCAA's basketball czar, there will be adequate disabled seating within clear sight of the court. The NCAA is also reaching out to local youth groups for the first time to get them into the building and to expose the event to people throughout the Detroit-metro area.

"We see how the Final Four can be really important here," Shaheen said. "It can help the economy in Detroit and in the state."

The NCAA is also savvy to drawing upon local interest and will play up the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Michigan State national champions, led by Hall of Famer and former Spartan Magic Johnson.

• Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said that not knowing if center Goran Suton could play in recent weeks has been a "nightmare." He said Suton's scope surgery on Thursday offers clarity for him and Suton. Now the senior will know exactly what is happening with his left knee. On Tuesday, Izzo said, he thought Suton would be able to play Wednesday against top-ranked North Carolina (Suton had missed the previous three games). But after two runs through layup lines, Suton knew he couldn't go. The Spartans lost big-time, 98-63.

• Izzo said his best hope is for freshman Delvon Roe to be at 80-85 percent by the time Big Ten play starts and then ride that out the rest of the season. Roe had microfracture surgery last December, and the normal recovery for that type of surgery is a year.

• Izzo said that even if the Spartans had been at full strength against UNC, they still may have lost by 20, but they certainly would have given a better effort.

• Tulsa is sliding a bit, falling to 4-3 after a loss to Ohio on Wednesday.

• UMass is off to a woeful start, losing at Toledo in the final second, 57-56, dropping the Minutemen to 1-5. They also lost a heartbreaker in their home opener (75-74 to Jacksonville State).

• Maryland got a much-needed win over Michigan, 75-70. The Terps now have to root hard for the Michigan schools to do well and be NCAA teams for those two wins to matter in March. The Terps beat Michigan State last week, 80-62.

• Hard to believe that Tyler Smith's triple-double (12 points, 10 boards, 10 assists) against UNC-Asheville was the first ever for a Tennessee player.

• Siena stopped the bleeding of going 0-3 in Disney by beating Loyola, Md., in what matters most for the Saints now -- winning the MAAC.

• The most impressive wins of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, outside of Duke and North Carolina taking it to Purdue and Michigan State in the Midwest, were Penn State winning at Georgia Tech and Northwestern beating Florida State. Two teams predicted for the bottom of the Big Ten took out two teams that believe they'll be in the NCAAs.

• Illinois-Chicago beat Vanderbilt in Nashville. That's two home losses for the Commodores (Illinois was the other). That is quite rare.

• Utah hasn't lost since the opener to Southwest Baptist. The Utes beat Oregon on Wednesday.

• Bob Huggins squelched a big night for his good friend Andy Kennedy when West Virginia beat Ole Miss in Oxford on a pair of Alex Ruoff free throws with 17.7 seconds left.

• BYU's Lee Cummard is making a strong case so far for MWC Player of the Year. He put up 30 at Weber State in the Cougars' 30-point win and is averaging 20.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.