ESPN Men's Basketball

Post-tournament games haven't been good to some teams.

• Duke had the toughest post-tourney matchup at Ohio State. And the Blue Devils lost -- big.

• Dayton followed its Old Spice Classic win by getting smoked by Buffalo -- at home.

• Saint Louis added a game at Loyola Marymount in nearby Anaheim on the back end of its 76 Classic title game. SLU, fresh off a No. 25 ranking, lost to LMU.

Will Harvard be next in line to fall on Thursday night?

Yes, it's a new world when there is legitimate reason to pay attention to a Harvard at Vermont game in Burlington.

The Crimson won the Battle 4 Atlantis and are thisclose to joining the top 25. They have a big-time game next Thursday at Connecticut, which would be an acceptable loss in the maturation of a possible NCAA-bound team.

But what will the perception be if the Crimson lose at Vermont?

Well, it shouldn't be diminished all that much. The Catamounts are off to a 4-2 start under new head coach John Becker. Vermont won in overtime at Old Dominion and squeaked out a win over Siena. The losses -- at downtrodden South Florida and to NEC favorite Long Island University -- aren't horrible.

Vermont is more than capable of fending off Boston University and others to ultimately win the America East. For Harvard, beating the Catamounts would be akin to what Creighton has consistently done when challenged -- win games it should, even on the road, if it is to be taken seriously at a high level. The Bluejays won at UAB, a team that is playing subpar at this juncture in Conference USA. But that's still a road win. They also beat a struggling Iowa squad on a neutral court. But their first real quality win came late Wednesday night in an 85-83 comeback win at San Diego State. That's the same Aztecs team that won at Arizona. Harvard winning at Vermont won't be on equal footing with Creighton's victory over San Diego State. But it would fall in line with what the Crimson have done previously in winning at Loyola Marymount, which beat a mediocre UCLA team and knocked off an elite A-10 squad in the Billikens.

Harvard senior Oliver McNally made it clear en route from the Bahamas last Sunday that the Crimson wouldn't overlook Vermont. He said that the game should have an Ivy League feel to it, and he fully expected the Catamounts to treat the Crimson with respect. The target is clearly on Harvard's back because beating the Crimson is now a quality win for the opponent. "We're really excited about this," Becker said. "Harvard is very good and playing real well. They understand that this will be a challenge. They realize that they're coming into Patrick Gym and it's not going to be easy for them. I don't think Coach [Tommy] Amaker will let them come out flat."

In the strange twist of scheduling, Becker saw the Harvard win at Loyola Marymount -- a key sign that the Crimson are no fluke -- and then watched LMU-Saint Louis since Vermont visits SLU on Dec. 7. He noticed the poise the Crimson play with on the road. "I told our kids that this is a great opportunity for us," Becker said. "We feel that we have a really good mid-major program, one of the best in the last 10 years. Outside of UConn, no other program in New England has won more games. We have a lot of pride. Harvard has been coming on strong under Coach Amaker. But we've got a really good program. We've got a lot of good players."

Vermont hosting Harvard is a quality game, one that will have significance for the Crimson.

Yes, that statement is being written on Dec. 1. And it's true, Vermont would still have to win the America East tournament to earn an NCAA berth. There is always an outside shot if Harvard has a gaudy record that it could be in the mix for an at-large berth. Winning games like Thursday, though, are a must.

"Harvard at Vermont, it's great. It will be a great environment," Becker said. "It's early in the year but we can show that we can compete. This is really exciting for us, a great opportunity. I think you'll see where some of the mid-major programs are. The town is exciting. Burlington is buzzing over this game."

Karl Hobbs' nightmare was Mike Lonergan's dream.

Hobbs said in August, at a Jim Calhoun golf outing in Connecticut, that he had no idea he was going to get fired in late April, weeks after the normal coaching carousel takes a turn.

Lonergan anticipated that something could occur at George Washington. He had a hunch after longtime athletic director Jack Kvancz retired and the school hired America East commissioner Patrick Nero as his replacement.

Lonergan was right. Hobbs was out.

And after getting through a two-man race with Kansas assistant Joe Dooley, who had plenty of support after playing at GW, Lonergan was finally at peace in his college coaching career.

The new GW coach was home. And he won't leave again until he's done with coaching or the school makes a decision for him.

"This is my last job,'' said the 45-year-old Lonergan, who is from Bowie, Md., and went to Archbishop Carroll High. He ttended and played at Catholic University of America in D.C., coached there, met his basketball-coaching wife Maggie there and plans to stay in the area for the foreseeable future with her and their four children.

"I started coaching at 22 years old, and this is my 24th year in coaching. And while I'm not burned out, I don't want to do this when I'm 60 years old,'' Lonergan said. "This is really it for me. I've put together a staff of guys [who] I think can develop players the way we did at Catholic and Vermont.

"When I leave, I want to leave the next guy with a great program. I think I'll end up being an AD at a D-3 or something and let my wife get back into coaching.''

Maggie Lonergan was the winningest coach in Catholic University women's history when she left her job in 2005 to follow her husband to Vermont. Mike Lonergan said the deal between them was that whoever got a Division I coaching job first, the other would give up his or her job so they could continue to raise a family. Lonergan took an assistant coaching job at Maryland for one year to replace his longtime friend Jimmy Patsos, who left to become the head coach at Loyola (Md.).

Midway through his one season with Gary Williams, Vermont started its replacement search for the legendary Tom Brennan, who announced he was retiring at the end of the season.

Lonergan was anxious about interviewing while working for Williams at the time, but he did get Williams' support to pursue the opening.

"Gary told me, 'You should do it,''' Lonergan said. "Mike Brey [a Maryland native and GW alumnus] told me he had been in the league at Delaware and said that Vermont was a hard job. But Catholic was a hard job. He told me that there was a strong fan base. I listened to him. He might have been the only guy, outside of Gary, to tell me to take the job.''

Part of the reason for Lonergan's concern was that he had to replace Brennan, a local legend. Brennan had three remarkable years at Vermont, leading the Catamounts to the NCAA tournament, including a stunning first-round win over Syracuse in 2005, his final season. UVM had plenty of off seasons under Brennan, but the latter three were magical in Burlington. And Brennan, who had his own statewide radio show, was as much of an iconic figure as he was a coach.

The personalities couldn't have been more opposite. Brennan is a comic who doesn't mind chatting up anyone around him, from the postman to the janitor. Lonergan is much more of an introvert and puts up a bit of anxiety because of his attention to detail.

"When I first got there, I regretted it for a month,'' Lonergan said. "We didn't have much back. We were starting over. And Coach Brennan was like the mayor. Everyone knew him.''

Brennan stayed in Burlington and eventually had a two-year run as an ESPN analyst -- and he was supportive of Lonergan.

The new coach kept Vermont at a high level, something that seemed difficult at the time. The Catamounts went to the NCAA tournament once (2010), had two NIT appearances (2007 and 2011) and a CBI appearance (2009).

But Lonergan was more than ready to make the jump to the Atlantic 10.

"When the [Colonials] changed ADs, I just had a feeling that they might make a move,'' Lonergan said. "There were other jobs that were out there that I heard about, like Towson and Bradley, but I just felt that I should lay low and see if this happened. I was guessing.''

Lonergan said he always looked at George Washington or Richmond as his dream job.

"It was the location,'' Lonergan said. "I knew it was going to be impossible to get into the ACC or the Big East from where I was. This is my recruiting area. It's where I'm most familiar. It's close to home. I know people say things like this, but it was my dream job.''

Williams said Lonergan was always looking at the GW job.

"He had the connections in the area,'' Williams said. "He's a regular guy. High school coaches like him. He doesn't knock your socks off when you met him. But his teams play well, and he's a good choice for them. He showed me something at Catholic. He wasn't worried about getting good big men because he couldn't. So he went after guys who could shoot 3s, a good point guard, and then they were going to cover you. He found guys who could play.''

"We're very different people. We're like the opposite brothers,'' said Patsos, who was the best man at Lonergan's wedding. Patsos said Lonergan, nicknamed "Fresh" for always being clean-cut, is a lot like Williams -- never completely happy but intense. "Mike Lonergan and I grew up going to games in the area. We were both at Catholic U. We saw GW go 1-27 when Joe Dooley was playing. We even thought it was a dream job then. GW is really a Washington school. I think it is his dream job. But the A-10 is difficult to top."

Patsos added that he agreed for Loyola to play GW every other year at the Smith Center. "Xavier and Dayton have raised their programs and Fran Dunphy and Temple are doing a great job. I'm glad Mike got his dream job, but it's going to really hard. But he's got time. He's got the rest of his life."

Hobbs anticipated that he would have one of his best teams in 2011-12. GW went 17-14 last season and a surprising 10-6 in the A-10. The Colonials are only six seasons removed from going 27-3 overall, 16-0 in the A-10 and losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Duke.

Lonergan didn't keep former associate head coach Roland Houston on his staff. Houston got a new gig at nearby George Mason, and GW's top recruit, Erik Copes, went with him. Former Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt is about to begin his first season at George Mason.

The GW staff of Hajj Turner, who was with Lonergan at Vermont, Pete Strickland and Kevin Sutton are all part of the development equation that Lonergan is professing. The return of top two scorers Tony Taylor and Dwayne Smith will help the Colonials become competitive in the A-10. Not having Copes hurts, though.

George Washington is now chasing Xavier, Temple and Richmond for a top spot in the A-10 every season. Xavier and Temple have separated themselves from the pack and are the benchmark for the rest of the league.

There is transition in the conference, though, with Dayton going through a coaching change (from Brian Gregory to Archie Miller). Saint Louis appears ready to mount a move under Rick Majerus. Rhode Island and Duquesne have been consistent of late, but just not good enough to merit NCAA berths. St. Bonaventure is looking to break through, with forward Andrew Nicholson leading the Bonnies, and Saint Joseph's can never be dismissed as a factor.

"We have to regain respect locally,'' Lonergan said. "It's all about what have you done lately. But six years ago isn't that long ago. We have to get the local guys to buy into that. We have to work hard in recruiting. We have to get lucky with a sleeper like we did at Vermont with Marqus Blakely or Joe Trapani, but at this level. And we've got to go international [like Mike Jarvis did at GW]. We also could use transfers. We'd love to get players who come back to this area who were homesick but don't have baggage and are good academically.''

The changing landscape in college sports hasn't filtered down to the A-10 yet. GW is likely in a decent position because of its location. Regardless, Lonergan isn't budging. He said this is his last job, and he is determined to make it work.

"I look at Coach Williams,'' Lonergan said. "He's enjoying life a bit more. I don't want to go on forever.''

New Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said late Sunday night by text that he would be pushing assistant Steve Prohm to replace him at Murray State.

If Prohm gets the job, he'll be well on his way toward a potential higher-level gig.

Murray State has become one of the hottest jobs to get off the traditional coaching grid. The résumés of the former coaches back up the importance of being the head coach of the Racers.

Three of the last four coaches at Murray State made significant leaps.

Mark Gottfried went from Murray to Alabama.

Mick Cronin followed Tevester Anderson, and three years later he was the head coach at Cincinnati.

Kennedy just finished his fifth season and he was scheduled to be introduced as the next head coach at Texas A&M on Monday.

"It's a great job because they want to win," Gottfried said of Murray State. "They make a commitment to basketball and expect championships and NCAA tourneys. It's a coaching launching pad and they accept that."

That's the key statement. The Racers know who they are and don't try to fool anyone. Murray State is the class program of the Ohio Valley Conference and it is located in a state that deeply loves the sport. But the Racers have found a way to differentiate themselves in the OVC by winning on a consistent basis. Murray will never be Louisville or Kentucky. Some might even argue Western Kentucky has more of a national name. And Morehead State had its moment in March by knocking off Louisville in the NCAA tournament.

But inside and outside of the commonwealth, Murray State has quite a deal of respect around the sport.

"Murray State is a great job because of the tradition, support of the university and the community," Cronin said. "I have never been treated as well in my life as I was by the people in Murray, Kentucky. It's just a special place.

"Although it is a mid-major job, winning is expected there and there is pressure to keep the tradition going. The fans are passionate so there are similarities to the high-major jobs in college basketball."

Murray has had consistent rivalries with strong contenders like Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech, and the emergence of Morehead State has certainly helped the conference. So will the recent addition of Belmont, which will move to the OVC from the Atlantic Sun after next season.

As for Prohm, he was with Kennedy as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana as well as Murray State. So the easiest transition for the Racers' administration would be to promote. If they don't, then low-major head coaches looking to jump up and certainly significant assistants will draw interest.

The Vermont job is open as well, and so is Navy after head coach Billy Lange left to rejoin Jay Wright's Villanova staff. UVM brought in Washington assistant Raphael Chillious and former Boston College assistant and current Northeastern associate head coach Pat Duquette over the weekend as two of the possible replacements (there are supposedly two others) for Mike Lonergan, who left for George Washington. Former Catamounts player and fan favorite Jeff Brown, who now coaches at nearby Middlebury College, told ESPN.com he wasn't going to pursue the job.

It's clear neither of those openings compares to the springboard that has become Murray.

The Racers have had a consistent presence atop the conference standings and have made several NCAA tournament appearances over the past decade, including an upset win over fourth-seeded Vanderbilt, followed by a two-point loss to eventual nation runner-up Butler in 2010.

The respect this program has amid college coaches and administrators is high. Cronin mentioned that coaching at Murray is tremendous prep work for a high-level job because it is essentially a high-level job.

So Kennedy should be in position to handle any scrutiny at Texas A&M. He landed the Aggies job by hanging around in the search while some higher-profile coaches (Buzz Williams, Josh Pastner, Gregg Marshall) took themselves out of the running early. And ultimately he was a better fit for A&M than Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson, who talked to the school a few hours after Kennedy interviewed.

In the end, Texas A&M hired Kennedy, who will likely see his salary double. But he does leave behind one of the hidden gems in coaching, a job that should be coveted by plenty and will likely continue to be a stepping-stone to a power-six job.

The pressure to win two or three games in a conference tournament can be intense for a traditional one-bid league.

But the NIT rule guaranteeing the regular-season winner a spot in its 32-team field has actually taken the pressure off the fear that a conference champ would get frozen out of the postseason.

At least that's the approach Vermont coach Mike Lonergan has taken after the Catamounts, along with Fairfield, became the first two regular-season conference champs in college basketball.

"It does take the pressure off,'' said Lonergan. "We're definitely playing well but those [conference] tournaments can be scary even when you're playing well. It's great to know you've got a good spot, at the worst, in the NIT.''

Vermont has won 10 in a row and clinched the America East title Wednesday at Maine with a 13-2 record. After Saturday's BracketBuster game at College of Charleston, the Catamounts have one game left to play in the league -- against Boston University on Feb. 27.

Maine looked like it should be the America East's BracketBuster television representative -- at least I thought it did -- after the Black Bears won at Penn State in December. But since Jan. 29, they have lost five in a row.

Vermont has to go to Hartford for the first two rounds of the America East tournament. If it wins, it will host the final a week later in Burlington, like it did a year ago.

Lonergan is confident that the Catamounts, which played and lost at Connecticut and to BYU in Glens Falls, N.Y., in the Jimmer Fredette homecoming, will get a No. 14 seed in the NCAA tournament. If they were to land a seed like that, then they at least have a chance in the first round.

The problem is that Lonergan can also see the vulnerability of his youthful team which could get knocked off prior to the final. Binghamton is a wild card. So, too, is BU and maybe Maine if the Black Bears can get their act together. And if that happens, at least Vermont has an established postseason home.

Fairfield will feel more heat, though, after winning the MAAC regular-season title. The Stags finally wrestled the MAAC tournament from Albany -- home of Siena -- and will host at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.

Siena beat Fairfield in the final seconds last season in Albany, and then won the tournament championship over the Stags in overtime.

Iona coach Tim Cluess said he could see as many as seven teams winning the MAAC tournament -- even in Bridgeport. Look for Iona, Rider, St. Peter's, Canisius, Loyola (Md.) and Siena to come into the tournament believing they can knock off Fairfield.

Fairfield coach Ed Cooley has done a tremendous job resurrecting the Stag program, and winning the regular-season title is quite an accomplishment. Closing the deal by winning the MAAC tournament, regardless of what happens versus Austin Peay on BracketBuster Saturday and the final two conference games against Siena and at Iona, will still be the ultimate judgment on the year. Getting the top seed and hosting, sets up Fairfield for its potential fourth NCAA tournament appearance in school history.

"I hope we win this year,'' Cooley said. "If we win, who knows, maybe we'll be a 13 at best. I'm just trying to win this game. I haven't been to the NCAA in five years [since leaving Boston College as an assistant]. I want to get there.''

Fairfield enters BracketBuster weekend at 21-5 overall and 14-2 in the league (three games ahead of three teams tied for second).

But like Vermont, Fairfield will at least be in the NIT, a safety net that ensures the regular-season champs are protected.

Georgetown expects to challenge for the Big East title.

And it's obvious with the turnover of rosters that Louisville and Pitt should drop out of the top two slots from last season to make room for a contender that finished in the bottom six.

Connecticut, which was tied with Pitt, a game behind Louisville, will slide down a peg, too, albeit maybe just out of the title chase.

Upstart teams like Cincinnati, Seton Hall and St. John's all say they're going to make runs at NCAA berths. If that's the case, a team from the top eight of the Big East has to drop to the bottom seven, right?

Picking Providence to drop makes sense because it lost five key players off last season's team. The Friars didn't make the NCAA tournament but did win 10 league games. Second-year coach Keno Davis has to put his own imprint on the roster this season.

But that's still not enough if those other teams are going to climb higher in the Big East. Another team has to drop.

The consensus among the rest of the league is that team probably will be Marquette, which lost a trio of guards (Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James), the driving force in Tom Crean's and Buzz Williams' success on the court the past three seasons.

"Everyone is making that push, and in order for someone to go up, someone else has to go down,'' second-year Golden Eagles coach Williams said late Wednesday as he finished an exhausting day that started with a 5 a.m. boot camp wakeup call with his team. Marquette is preparing for Friday's first official day of practice. "If Providence and Marquette are those teams, then maybe that's what it will be.''

With Cincinnati's addition of highly touted talent Lance Stephenson, the healthy return of Anthony Mason Jr. for a veteran St. John's team, and the impact of transfers Herb Pope and Keon Lawrence for surging Seton Hall, Williams isn't dismissing the expected turnarounds.

He's not going to argue any of those points.

But it would be hard to push the Marquette staff into thinking it isn't finishing somewhere in the top eight with the current roster, despite a turbulent offseason.

Marquette's staff exhibits pride, albeit somewhat privately, and its members believe there's no reason the Golden Eagles should be seen as any less deserving of consideration among possible postseason teams than Pitt, which lost four of five starters and two key players for this season (Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown, who currently are shelved with a broken foot and a fall academic suspension, respectively).

The Pitt comeback is hard to debate, considering the Panthers do have an immense talent in 6-foot-9, 235-pound big man Dante Taylor to replace DeJuan Blair, a gold-medal-winning (Under-19 U.S. team) point guard in Ashton Gibbs and a coach in Jamie Dixon who has a stellar 163-45 record in his first six seasons as a head coach. With Dixon's track record, the expectation is he won't slide out of a top-eight finish.

The Golden Eagles' case would be stronger had freshman point Junior Cadougan not ruptured his right Achilles tendon, which will keep him sidelined for the season. Their case to stay relevant this season would have been nearly impossible had senior guard Maurice Acker not flip-flopped and returned to the team after deciding earlier in the summer to focus on his academics. Acker's minutes jumped from three a game to more than 27 after Dominic James went out with a foot injury in the final six games of the 2008-09 regular season.

Williams said it was déjà vu that Acker was in the same position from last winter to now, standing idle until an injury opened up an opportunity for him.

The other point Marquette was counting on was sophomore Darius Johnson-Odom, who injured his left foot in a workout last month. The hope is Johnson-Odom can come back next week.

The off-court news got worse last month when 2010-11 committed recruit Monterale Clark was arrested and charged in an alleged sexual assault at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas. The 6-foot-10 Clark was a highly touted junior college player who was being heavily pursued by schools in the Big 12 and SEC. Clark hadn't signed a national letter of intent yet (until the November signing period), so the Golden Eagles can't comment on him. However, privately they say that regardless of what happens with the case, Clark will never play for them.

The eligibility of Youssoupha Mbao, a 7-foot-2 freshman expected to contribute, is not settled, and junior forward Joe Fulce is still recovering from surgery on his right knee.

Despite all the body blows that seem to be coming, the Golden Eagles don't seem to be wilting. There are high expectations for senior Lazar Hayward, who averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds a game last season, and won a bronze medal for the U.S. at the World University Games. And the returns of Acker and sixth man Jimmy Butler, who averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds last season on the wing, certainly help.

"Lazar will be one of the better players in the league,'' Marquette assistant coach Tony Benford said. "Acker, Hayward and Butler all averaged 25 minutes or more toward the end of last season when James went down, and we have experience at the right spots -- point guard and the 4 man. Everybody is going to pick us [as the team that drops]. We'll see.''

While Johnson-Odom is expected back, not having Cadougan is a blow. The expectation that senior point David Cubillan will cushion some of it means the Golden Eagles will have two seniors sharing the point, even though neither was projected to be the main distributor at the end of last season.

If junior college stud Dwight Buycks can make an impact on the perimeter, freshman wing Jeronne Maymon can produce, and there is helpful depth behind Hayward with Fulce, sophomore center Chris Otule, freshman Erik Williams and Mbao (assuming his eligibility is resolved and he doesn't miss games), there will be quality depth, as Benford professes.

Benford isn't shying away from the Golden Eagles' needing Otule to score on the block, Maymon to be the strong power body inside or Mbao to be the skilled big man who can run the floor and defend. "Everybody thinks it's going to be us, the team that slides,'' Benford said. "But we'll defend. And you know a Buzz team is going to play hard.''

Getting an early read on this squad could come in late November at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Marquette opens with Xavier and then plays either Creighton or Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend.

Playing rebuilding NC State and at Wisconsin in December also will tell a tale about where this team is headed before it opens the Big East with easily the hardest first four games of any team in the league. Marquette faces three favorites who might win the league: at West Virginia, Villanova, Georgetown and at Villanova. That slate alone could push Marquette to the cellar. Whether it stays there will be determined by how much the newcomers have matured by January.

Williams was facing a daunting task of filling the roster with high-profile recruits after the expected departures of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and James.

He did that.

He couldn't control the injury to Cadougan, and the 2010 recruiting took a major hit with the Clark situation. Getting Jamail Jones (the No. 13 small forward in the ESPNU Top 100) out of Montverde Academy in Decatur, Ga., helps.

But the long-term success of this program might be determined by how Williams handles this season now that Cadougan is gone and the focus will be on whether or not the Golden Eagles fall in the league.

Since the expectation is that they will drop, finishing in the top 10 in the Big East will be seen as a major accomplishment that proves the Golden Eagles have sustaining power even in a transition year.

• Equal time for the rest of the America East is due after all the negative words focused on Binghamton's issues. Albany returns two all-conference players, Tim Ambrose (14.3 ppg) and Virginia transfer Will Harris (12.9 ppg), to a team that was fourth nationally in rebound margin. Boston University first-year coach Pat Chambers is loaded with 91.5 percent of the scoring back from last season, including John Holland (18.1), Corey Lowe (17.2) and league rookie of the year Jake O'Brien (12.5). New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion made the America East semifinals last season for the second time since 1995, and Alvin Abreu (12.8 ppg), Tyrone Conley (8.9 ppg) will ease replacing two-time all-conference player Tyrece Gibbs. With 16 wins last season, Stony Brook's total was its most in Division I, and it should be a factor again with Muhammad El-Amin (15.7 ppg) and all-rookie players Tommy Brenton (6.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Bryan Dougher (11.2 ppg). SBU held teams to only 60.9 points a game last season. Vermont returns the America East player and defensive player of the year, Marqus Blakely (16.1 ppg, 9 rebounds per game and 2.7 blocks per game), and Michigan State transfer Maurice Joseph (8.1). The Catamounts averaged a league-best 76.1 points a game. Hartford's Dan Leibovitz is hopeful he'll have an injury-free team this season. Leibovitz got his team motivated by proving he can stay in shape, too. He ran and finished the Hartford Marathon on Saturday -- his first.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon returned from a family vacation in Hawaii on Sunday. He was scheduled to be in Pittsburgh on Monday and then head out to Colorado Springs on Tuesday to begin coaching the USA Basketball U-19 team heading to New Zealand next month. Somewhere mixed in there, he will almost certainly be getting a call from USC.

The chances of him saying anything other than "No, thanks" are still small, but according to a source with knowledge of the situation, Dixon will be given the first chance to replace Tim Floyd. USC has to go through that process first, likely through back channels and then maybe directly with Dixon, before it can move ahead. Waiting to ask permission to speak with him is just a formality and rarely happens anymore. By the time permission has been granted, the coach has either accepted or told the school he's not interested.

USC's move toward Dixon is akin to what Kentucky did two years ago with Florida's Billy Donovan. Even though all indications were that Donovan would remain with the Gators, the Wildcats had to go through the process of making a run at him. He was the obvious first choice. UK's approach was a bit more public than anything USC would likely do in the coming days. But the Trojans, according to a source, have to make the effort to look at Dixon.

Multiple sources close to Dixon in and out of Pittsburgh say he won't leave for Los Angeles. But there is nothing wrong with listening. For example, what if USC were to throw a crazy offer at Dixon, like $2 million a year for eight years? Wouldn't he have to at least listen? Dixon's buyout is projected to be at least $1 million, according to sources, although Pitt doesn't release contract details on its coaches.

Dixon, like any other elite coach in his position, doesn't have to leave for a rebuilding situation, even one that has as many recruiting advantages as USC, with its proximity to players. Dixon is from the L.A. area, but Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson isn't fretting over the current situation because of how much Dixon is revered in Pittsburgh and the way the Panthers view him as their version of Mike Krzyzewski, a coach who can leave a legacy for years to come. The timing isn't great for Dixon, either, with a USC roster that seems to get smaller with every passing day and a commitment to be with USA Basketball for the next month.

If, as expected, Dixon doesn't want the job, then USC will have some interesting choices. Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, a former Long Beach State head coach, is well-connected in the area and has been a vocal critic of coaches who run afoul of NCAA rules. Oregon State's Craig Robinson comes from an Ivy League background as a player at Princeton and a coach at Brown and fits the criteria of being above reproach with the NCAA.

If the Trojans want a coach who could play with the big boys in recruiting elite talent again, then former Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus could fit that tag. Pro coaches, like Lakers assistants Jim Cleamons and Brian Shaw, have solid name recognition but don't have the experience with NCAA rules over the past decade.

There is also a dark-horse candidate in Cal State-Northridge's Bobby Braswell, who coached USC senior associate athletic director Dr. Brandon Martin at Cleveland High in Los Angeles in the late 1980s. USC athletic director Mike Garrett will make the call, not Martin. But Braswell does have an in and could be a legitimate fall-back candidate for a number of reasons. He knows the L.A. market, can recruit and has done a tremendous job revitalizing the Matadors. Northridge gave 2-seed Memphis a serious scare in the first round of this season's NCAA tournament.

Braswell, who has coached the Matadors for 13 seasons, was in the Big Sky at the same time Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon were there at Northern Arizona. Braswell helped Northridge move from the Big Sky to the Big West and become a major player in that league. He would make sense if the Trojans want to remain local and/or if money is an issue.

In summary, Dixon offers the best-case scenario for USC, while Theus, Robinson or Greenberg would certainly win a news conference. But few coaches, including the ones listed above, might be willing to take the gamble without knowing how bad it could get at USC. No one -- not the candidates or anyone at the school -- has a clue how badly the Trojans will get hit by the NCAA when the investigation is complete.

• Gonzaga's Austin Daye is scheduled to work out with the New York Knicks on Monday morning and afterward will make up his mind as to whether he will remain in the NBA draft. Daye said Sunday night he will make the decision right before Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline.

Wake Forest coach Dino Guadio spent Sunday night meeting with Jeff Teague and his family as Teague decides whether to stay in the draft or go back to school. According to a source connected with agent Mike Conley Sr., Teague hadn't signed with Conley, the advisor who has been helping him in the process, as of Sunday afternoon.

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez is expected to make his decision known Monday. So, too, is Saint Mary's Patrick Mills, who was scheduled to have a workout Monday morning. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, Kentucky's Jodie Meeks and Texas A&M's Chinemelu Elonu will push the Monday deadline as well.

UPDATE: Meeks announced Monday he will remain in the draft, as did Teague, Elonu, Daye and Mills. Vasquez and Harangody, on the other hand, will return to college.

• Holy Cross is expected to make Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion one of its finalists to replace Ralph Willard, who left to become an assistant on Rick Pitino's Louisville staff. A lot of names have been bandied about in the past few days, notably Kansas assistant Joe Dooley. One rumor that apparently doesn't have legs is the one about Vermont's Mike Lonergan. Lonergan has made it clear that he intends on staying with the Catamounts, who should be one of the favorites to win the America East title. To be fair, he does seem like a natural fit at Holy Cross, which has long been considered the best job in the Patriot League. Lonergan went to American International College in Springfield, Mass., coached in the Patriot League as an assistant at Colgate and has family ties to the school, where his father, Jack, was a left-handed pitcher for the Crusaders' 1952 NCAA College World Series championship team.

• The Providence Journal did an extensive series with outgoing 18-year Rhode Island president Robert Carothers and he had some scathing words for two former Rams coaches. He credited Jim Harrick with the single-best basketball season in URI history (the Elite Eight run of 1998) and gave him his due for helping build the Ryan Center. But he followed it up with this zinger: "On the other hand, he was a great embarrassment. The same character flaws he had at UCLA ended up here, and he passed them on to another generation too [at Georgia]. No question he's an excellent coach. But not necessarily a great man."

He followed that up with a dig at Harrick's replacement, Jerry DeGregorio, who at the time was thought to be hired only because there was a chance he could keep his former prep school player, Lamar Odom, on the team. Odom, who played one season at URI and led the Rams to the A-10 tournament title in 1999, declared for the draft and didn't return. The Journal quoted Carothers as saying hiring DeGregorio was the "single worst personnel decision I ever made in my life. I don't do this very often, but at the time I listened to the alumni. He's a nice guy, but it was a bad situation."

Current coach Jim Baron is 113-118 since he was hired in 2001. Baron has brought stability to the program, but hasn't been able to get the Rams into the NCAA tournament in his eight seasons.

• I want to express my deep condolences to the family of former Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick. Frederick was one of the most genuine and warm athletic directors I've come across in the past two decades. He made a bold choice when he hired North Carolina assistant Roy Williams to take over KU after Larry Brown had won the 1988 national title. Frederick was a central figure in the world of college basketball for many years, including his time as the chair of the NCAA men's basketball tournament committee. His tragic death after a bike accident in Lawrence shouldn't have gotten lost amid other news in the sport last week. Frederick was an example of what was good in the sport. He will be sorely missed.

STORRS, Conn. -- A second has been made on Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun's unofficial motion to tab Hasheem Thabeet as the Big East player of the year.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is on board with the decision. He is endorsing Thabeet's candidacy.

"He changes the game," Boeheim said after Thabeet had 16 boards, seven blocks and eight points in the 63-49 win over the Orange on Wednesday.

"You can't go near the basket," Boeheim said. "He scores enough and he rebounds. He dominates and he blocks shots. He blocked 14 points -- all layups. He scared us in at least seven more shots. That's 28 points. How valuable do you have to be? Some guy will score 26 points, is that guy more valuable than a guy who scares you away from 28 points? And he gets 16 rebounds as well as score a little. He's by far the most dominant player in our league."

Syracuse lead guard Jonny Flynn said the Huskies are a "totally different team" with Thabeet on the court. He said the shots are altered by having to shoot it a few inches higher. He said Thabeet isn't going for ball fakes, either.

Thabeet is getting more rugged, too. He clobbered Kristof Ongenaet a few times. Ongenaet had the ball blocked off his face. He was hanging onto Thabeet at one point on the court, with Thabeet almost tossing him aside like a dummy.

"People get caught up in stats, but I think Jimmy and I would both say the same thing about Hasheem," Calhoun said. "If [Notre Dame] was winning and Luke Harangody [last season's Big East MVP] was scoring all those points, then you would say Notre Dame was winning with offense. We're winning with defense, and he's the focal point. They just scored 49 points. They average 80 [now 78.7]."

Calhoun said he doesn't know who is having a bigger impact on the game than Thabeet. Calhoun even tossed around comparisons to Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo, saying he's not sure there has been a player who has affected the game defensively as much as Thabeet is doing now in his three-plus decades of coaching.

The one thing Calhoun said Thabeet has to watch is throwing down "smaller guys." He said officials will call that on him, and they did against Michigan. But as soon as he tells Thabeet, he said, Thabeet listens and responds appropriately.

• Syracuse should be fine -- for the NCAAs. The Orange, now at 18-7 overall and 6-6 in the Big East, have lost six of the last eight games, but Boeheim isn't fretting. He said that if the Orange take care of their home games -- four of the next six -- then they should be fine. He said he impressed that on them in the postgame locker room. Flynn echoed those thoughts by saying they are realizing their situation. Having bankable wins over Memphis, Florida and Kansas puts the Orange at ease. A year ago, they didn't have anything to lean on from the nonconference schedule.

"A year ago we had to do everything in the Big East," Flynn said of the Orange's inability to get a bid.

"We have to beat the teams we're supposed to beat," Flynn said. "That's what got Georgetown and Notre Dame in trouble. They lost to teams like Cincinnati, Seton Hall and St. John's." (Georgetown lost to the first two, Notre Dame to the third.)

Defensively, the Orange were a different team against UConn than they were against Villanova. They held the Huskies to only 63 points after having given up 102 and 100 in losses to Villanova and Providence, respectively.

"We went out there and fought hard," Syracuse's Eric Devendorf said. "We were digging in, hustling and going after loose balls."

It wasn't enough to beat the Huskies, but if the Orange can mimic the effort, they should be able to beat Georgetown -- maybe. Boeheim said the reason he's not sweating was what he saw in the win over West Virginia after the loss at Providence. He doesn't anticipate another drop at home with Georgetown and Villanova coming to the Carrier Dome for the next two games. Still, those won't be a walk. If the Orange win, they won't have to worry even a bit.

• Connecticut's Jerome Dyson knocked knees and was expected to be in a pool for rehab late Wednesday night, an MRI on Thursday and then a diagnosis. Calhoun said he is hoping for just a bad bruise. But if Dyson has nothing more than a bruise, it will be interesting to see how Calhoun decides to use him, if at all, against Seton Hall on Saturday with Pitt looming Monday in Hartford.

• It's hard to figure how some programming decisions are made in particular conferences. LSU at Mississippi State on Wednesday, which was a first-place showdown in the SEC West, wasn't televised. LSU won 97-94 in double overtime. Tasmin Mitchell went for 41 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers in 49 minutes. There were 57 fouls and 91 free throws, seven players fouled out, Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury got a technical after the buzzer sounded in regulation (so overtime started with free throws), and LSU's Bo Spencer sprained his ankle with his status unknown. LSU is now 20-4 overall and 8-1 in the SEC West. LSU's InsideRPI rank is No. 46. So that raises the question: If the Tigers get a bid (and they likely will, as a convincing SEC West champ), how much will their seed be affected? LSU got blown out by 30 at Utah and didn't beat Texas A&M in its two main nonconference games before the SEC schedule. LSU then lost to Xavier by 10 at home. LSU's nonconference strength of schedule is ranked 244th. I wouldn't be shocked if LSU ended up wearing road jerseys in the first round.

• Keep an eye on Drexel as a possible spoiler in conference tournament play. The Dragons won by four at Northeastern on Wednesday and moved to 9-5 in the CAA. Drexel is more than capable of winning the conference tournament. Northeastern fell into a first-place tie with VCU at 11-3. (NU did beat VCU for the tiebreaker, though.) The CAA will get one bid this March.

• Vermont crushed Boston University 75-47 to assume control of the America East.

• Iowa State held Colorado to nine first-half points Wednesday. Not much more to add.

• Dayton beat Xavier to improve its NCAA resume (adding to a bankable Marquette win) but lost key guard Rob Lowery to a knee injury in the game.

• Purdue won its first game since Robbie Hummel was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back -- the Boilermakers broke away from Penn State by 14. Hummel hasn't played since a win over Michigan on Jan. 31. After that, Purdue lost at Ohio State and Illinois. Penn State hung around in the NCAA discussion after the Michigan State win, but the Nittany Lions have lost three straight to drop to 6-6, 17-8 overall.

• Wake Forest's seed continues to take a hit with each loss to a bottom team in the ACC. The loss to NC State, in addition to the one at Georgia Tech, means the Demon Deacons could be giving up Greensboro to Duke (and, obviously, North Carolina) in the first round, unless the Demon Deacons can sweep the Blue Devils.

• Utah assumed control, for a day, of the Mountain West with a solid 12-point win over San Diego State to move to 17-7, 8-2 in the league. I'm not sure whether this is a lock, but I feel strongly that Utah will be in the NCAAs regardless of who wins the MWC tournament.

• File away the name Jermaine Taylor of Central Florida. He will likely be a first-round draft pick. He scored 38 points in the Golden Knights' loss to UTEP on Wednesday.

• Frank Martin deserves plenty of praise for putting Kansas State in position to get an NCAA berth after losing Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. The Wildcats beat Texas Tech to move to 6-4 in the Big 12 and 17-7 overall.

• Good nuggets from one of the most aggressive information men in the Pac-10, ASU's Doug Tammaro. UCLA, which plays at Arizona State on Thursday and at Arizona on Saturday, has won 32 straight at the front end of such conference sets. In addition, the Bruins haven't been swept in the Pac-10 since Washington did it in 2005-06. (Ben Howland arrived at UCLA in 2003.) Here are the last Pac-10 sweeps of the Bruins: Washington (2005-06), Arizona (2004-05), Stanford (2004-05), USC (2003-04), Oregon (2002-03), ASU (2002-03, and a chance to do it again Thursday), Cal (1993-94) and Oregon State (1987-88). Washington State? Umm, never.

• Miami's Jack McClinton has been making a strong case for All-America status. McClinton is averaging 28.5 points (4.8 3s a game), four rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals (52.5 percent from the field, 55.9 on 3s) in the four games the Hurricanes have played against current or former No. 1 teams this season.

Craig Robinson and his wife, Kelly, stayed in the Lincoln bedroom Tuesday night at the White House, getting a chance to admire the original Gettysburg Address encased in glass.

For Robinson, it was hard not to get emotional or at least be in awe of his surroundings.

But he had no idea what was about to occur Thursday night in Berkeley, Calif.

When Robinson walked out onto the Haas Pavilion court for warm-ups, the Cal student section started clapping, standing and giving him a rousing ovation. The ovation spread to the rest of the fans.

"It was the most moving thing I've seen, other than Tuesday," Robinson said Friday morning, comparing the ovation to the emotion he felt watching his brother-in-law, Barack Obama, become the 44th president of the United States and his sister, Michelle, the first lady.

"It was the classiest thing I've ever seen," Robinson said. "It's by far the most emotional thing that has happened to me since Tuesday."

Robinson said he hadn't been introduced yet. He had just come out for warm-ups when the ovation started. He said Cal coach Mike Montgomery hadn't even come out from his team's locker room.

Oh, by the way, Oregon State beat Cal, 69-65, coming back from 11 points down. It was by far the best game Roeland Schaftenaar played for Robinson. Schaftenaar, a big man who can step out and shoot 3-pointers, scored 22 points going 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. "He was aggressive," Robinson said of Schaftenaar. Robinson said the Beavers' 1-3-1 zone started to frustrate the Bears in the second half. Cal still made 11 3-pointers but didn't make them at the right time.

Oregon State outscored Cal 33-22 in the second half after trailing by seven at halftime.

"We never stopped playing," Robinson said.

It's hard to underscore how surprising it is that Oregon State has two Pac-10 wins, against USC at home and at Cal no less. Oregon State didn't win a game last season in the Pac-10 under former coach Jay John, now a Cal assistant, and Kevin Mouton, who replaced John once he was fired.

Oregon State was predicted to finish last in the Pac-10 this season. Yet the Beavers are tied with Arizona at 2-5 in the league. Rival Oregon, which plays at Oregon State on Jan. 31, is winless in the first seven games.

"USC was the most surprising of the wins since I didn't think it would come so soon in the Pac-10 season and it was right after UCLA," Robinson said of the 23-point loss to the Bruins. "But to get this one was a surprise too. We were coming off our worst game against Washington [85-59 loss] and then had all these distractions. This team easily could have not played well."

Robinson coached practice Sunday, gave the team off Monday, and then the assistants ran practice Tuesday. Robinson met the team Wednesday in Berkeley for an 8-10:30 p.m. practice. So clearly, the Beavers had plenty of reasons to fail against a Cal team that's in position to challenge for the Pac-10 title.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Robinson said.

• Washington continues to look like a legitimate challenger to the Pac-10 title. The Huskies held off USC late Thursday night and this time got more scoring pop from guard Justin Dentmon. He got to the line 11 times, made all of them, then finished with 22 points. The Huskies (14-4, 5-1) host UCLA on Saturday in Seattle and have a chance to be alone in first place in the Pac-10 with a win.

• Utah State moved to 18-1 with a four-point win over San Jose State. There's no question the Aggies are the quietest 18-1 team in recent memory.

• Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are the only two ranked teams in the same conference, not from a BCS conference. That's great for the WCC, but the bottom of the league needs to catch up sooner than later so there isn't so much of a disparity.

• Boston University beat UMBC 80-77 in double overtime Thursday. John Holland scored 18 points and played 44 out of a possible 50 minutes. He played all 60 minutes, scored 29 points, in a quadruple overtime win over Stony Brook three days earlier.

• LSU coach Trent Johnson wouldn't say Saturday's game against Xavier is a must-win since the Tigers didn't win nonconference games at Utah or against Texas A&M in Houston. But he does recognize that Xavier is one of the best teams in the country and will certainly be a great win for the Tigers. LSU is on a roll offensively since scoring 59 points in an SEC-opening loss at Alabama. The Tigers have since scored 85, 83 and 81 in consecutive wins over South Carolina, at Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The big reason for the change is taking care of the ball, shot selection and overall offensive execution, especially in the first half, Johnson said.

• Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said the Tide has adjusted to life without point guard Ronald Steele, who has stopped playing basketball after suffering another injury (this time plantar fasciitis after knee injuries last season). Mikhail Torrance scored 24 in Steele's absence in a win over Ole Miss. The first two games without Steele were losses at Mississippi State and Auburn.

• Memphis coach John Calipari said he's glad he has two more nonconference games left on the schedule, beginning Saturday at Tennessee (the other is at Gonzaga Feb. 7). He said he wants to see Tyreke Evans at the point against competition outside of Conference USA after making the move last month. Calipari is fairly confident that the Tigers will get a high seed with their strength of schedule increasing with these two nonconference games.

• Was at Vermont's win over Hartford on Thursday and two things jumped out to me: one was that former Michigan State guard Maurice Joseph comes off the bench for the Catamounts and the other was how much Vermont coach Mike Lonergan discussed the NIT. Joseph is averaging 8.9 points and can be a scoring pop off the bench. But defensively he needs to tighten up to be a starter. Meanwhile, Lonergan said another huge incentive for the Catamounts to win the America East regular-season title is to get the NIT bid that goes to the regular-season champ if it doesn't win the conference tournament. He wants this team in the postseason in some form. He said the NIT rule of awarding the regular-season champs from every conference that doesn't get an NCAA bid was one of the best rules put in by the postseason event.