ESPN Men's Basketball

The Big East will send out its annual straw poll to its coaches to get their preseason predictions about the strength of the league's teams to help put together next season's conference schedule.

The league office said Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Pitt's Jamie Dixon will be allowed to vote in the poll, even though the schools are leaving the conference for the ACC. They weren't invited to the conference meetings earlier this week in Florida.

The results of the poll will determine which teams face each other twice during the conference schedule. Having a tiered system based on those predictions has worked well for the Big East, rather than the predetermined rotations of which teams play each other twice used by the Big Ten, ACC and SEC.

The Big East had 11 teams in the NCAA tournament in 2011; it sent nine teams last season. Coaches firmly believe handling scheduling this way is the reason.

"We've been able to give the league the flexibility to balance the schedule," Cincinnati's Mick Cronin said after the Big East meetings wrapped up Tuesday morning in Ponte Vedra Beach. "The repeat opponents have been set up by the hierarchy of the league in the summer. Something has been done right. We've had 11 teams and then nine teams in the NCAA. The coaches were against 18 league games but then it has helped us get more teams in [the tournament]."

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey agreed that the formula has worked for the Big East.

"It has driven us to get more bids," said Brey, who added it was odd not to have Boeheim at the Big East meetings for the first time during Brey's tenure at Notre Dame. "We've got to stay with this formula. It's not too constrictive. We don't want a rotation. We've got to keep an open mind. Some of it is by design, some of it is by luck, but it has really worked. You can sit there as a coach and say, 'If you're in the top eight, you're in the tournament.'"

There were 13 men's basketball coaches in attendance at Monday's meeting. Four coaches stayed to meet with athletic directors Tuesday. UConn's Jim Calhoun and Louisville's Rick Pitino weren't in attendance and neither were coaches from incoming 2013 members Temple (Fran Dunphy), Memphis (Josh Pastner) and SMU (Larry Brown).

According to Brey, the 11 other coaches in attendance, outside of him and Cronin, were: Stan Heath (South Florida), Ed Cooley (Providence), Kevin Willard (Seton Hall), Steve Lavin (St. John's), Mike Rice (Rutgers), Jay Wright (Villanova), Buzz Williams (Marquette), John Thompson III (Georgetown), Oliver Purnell (DePaul) and 2013 new members Donnie Jones (Central Florida) and James Dickey (Houston).

Heath said that there was even discussion about possibly opening up to 20 games from 18 when the new teams come into the conference.

"We had some conversation, but nothing was shot down," Heath said.

Heath, Cronin and Brey all said there was a renewed sense of optimism in the room, especially with presentations from television executives from NBC and Fox. ESPN and CBS have the current Big East rights, but the league will enter a new negotiating period in the fall.

"There was excitement over the TV presentation possibilities," Cronin said. "The Big East can't negotiate now but there was interest in our product. You could see people spending valuable time on the presentations and they say we'll be even stronger with the media market changes in adding Dallas, Houston and Orlando, which only helps the big picture."

The coaches agreed that the conference tournament must include all members in 2013, regardless of that number.

Heath said he brought up to the coaches that former USF player Kentrell Gransberry never played at Madison Square Garden during his career at South Florida because all the teams weren't invited.

"It's meaningful to the players and the teams even if it's one game," Heath said. "It's a big part of being in the Big East."

The format for the 2013 Big East tournament is still being discussed. There are 15 teams in the league this season with West Virginia's departure. Connecticut is currently not eligible for the tournament since it is not allowed to play in the postseason because of an NCAA ban for poor academics.

The coaches said the plan would be a for 14-team tournament with two games on Tuesday (instead of the previous four) and the rest of the schedule going forward from Wednesday on during championship week with the remaining teams.

Brey said the number of games for an 18-team Big East is still an issue.

"Everybody wants to play everybody," Brey said. "We can't have no-plays. And we need all of the schools to come to New York. A lot of these schools do a lot of business around the Big East tournament. We've got to figure out a way to do this. We're going to figure this all out together."

Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and Georgetown coach John Thompson III talked briefly last summer about possibly playing a game again between their two rival schools, according to a source with knowledge of the conversation.

There was no friction. There was no timetable. There was no commitment. And now there may be no game for quite some time.

A matchup between the two area powers is less likely to happen after Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson made public what was once a private conversation among the Terrapins' coaching staff. Anderson told the Maryland coaches that until Georgetown agrees to play Maryland in men's basketball, all games between the two schools in the non-revenue sports are off.

All current contracts will still be honored. The next matchup that is outstanding is a men's lacrosse game between Georgetown and Maryland. The two programs were slated to play in women's lacrosse, as well, according to Georgetown. Georgetown and Maryland had also competed against each other in men's soccer and in swimming this academic year.

Maryland leads the all-time men's basketball series 36-27. The last time the two schools played was at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., in 2008. Maryland played at Georgetown in 1993-94. Georgetown went to Maryland in 1973-74, which marked the last time there was a home-and-home series in consecutive seasons. There were a few neutral site games between 1974 and 2008.

Anderson's original comment to The Washington Post was that "if we're going to play people -- particularly somebody in our own region -- they should be able and willing to play us in everything. If we could sit down and talk about it and have a good dialogue, we're more than happy to pursue other avenues. But we want to play Georgetown in all sports.''

Former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. responded Monday on ESPN Radio 980 and called out Anderson for dealing with scheduling in a public format.

Thompson Jr. said, "it's incomprehensible to me.'' Thompson Jr. added that he took Anderson's move as a threat.

Maryland then released a statement from Anderson on Wednesday: "The interest that has arisen from area fans regarding our discussions about possible men's basketball games between Maryland and Georgetown confirms the idea is a good one. The reaction from Maryland fans we've heard from has been overwhelmingly positive and the financial benefits to both institutions cannot be ignored.

"It is not our desire to continue this discussion in the media. We look forward to working with Coach Turgeon and our colleagues at Georgetown University, to see if we can overcome whatever obstacles exist and turn this hope into a reality that will benefit both institutions when the time is right."

Turgeon said Wednesday that he schedules all the team's games. JT3 does the same. Athletic directors rarely get this involved in a game, but they do have to sign off on all contracts.

Maryland's ACC schedule will grow to 18 league games next season. The Terps still play an annual game in the BB&T Classic and the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and are usually in an exempted tournament. The ACC schedule will likely be loaded. Turgeon said he has been told that there will be two games against North Carolina and Duke as well as Virginia next season. When Pitt and Syracuse join the league, there will likely be two against Pitt and Syracuse and a rotation with some of the other traditional ACC rivals.

Fitting in a game against Georgetown would be tough for Maryland even if it makes too much sense. And the moment Georgetown signs off on a game, it would happen.

Meanwhile, JT3 has previously said that the Big East schedule of 18 games, even with new members, was going to make it harder to add old rivals like Syracuse (off to the ACC by 2014) because of other scheduling commitments (such as tournament games and the SEC-Big East Challenge).

The original rift between Georgetown and Maryland dates back to Thompson Jr. and Lefty Driesell, when they were coaching their respective programs. The two schools haven't always recruited against each other, despite the proximity.

Maryland is trying to recruit more in the area after hiring assistant coach Dalonte Hill, while Georgetown has always tried to recruit on a national stage.

The nastiness that exists between the two fan bases isn't as raw as it is between Louisville and Kentucky or Cincinnati and Xavier.

The game would draw great interest in the D.C.-Baltimore area. Sure, there would be complaints about location, even if Georgetown's home-court tickets at the Verizon Center were split down the middle.

The bitterness that has extended to long-standing rivalries that are ending due to conference realignment (Kansas-Missouri and Texas-Texas A&M) isn't applicable in this case. There wasn't a rivalry to end. This is a potential series that would be good for the game. And it would certainly be another power-rating opportunity for both schools.

Yet, egos are now going to be involved in college athletics again. So, non-revenue sports will lose a bus trip because the men's basketball teams still don't play each other.

If this had been left up to Turgeon and JT3, there was at least a chance it could happen. Turgeon and JT3 don't have any animosity. But now that it has gone public, the odds are slim.

If the two schools schedule a game against each other, it will look like Georgetown caved in to a threat. The chances of a Thompson-led program doing such a thing are probably zero.

Syracuse's pending departure to the ACC hasn't led to the same sort of bitterness we've seen in the past among conference brethren, most notably with the school's key rival over the past 25 years, the Georgetown Hoyas. This is not Kansas-Missouri. No one is overly cranky. The ACC offered more stable ground for the Orange, and for the most part, that was that.

So does that mean they'll continue the series?

Well, no one is ready to commit. Not in the least.

When the ACC move happened this fall, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim discussed the possibility of continuing the St. John's series more so than the Georgetown one. Boeheim didn't respond for comment this week.

"Everything changes,'' Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "Right now this falls into the category of what you would consider out-of-conference scheduling. It's there with the SEC-Big East Challenge. It is year to year. We'll see. There are a lot of hurdles and factors as to whether we play the game or not.''

Second-ranked Syracuse hosts No. 11 Georgetown on Wednesday night and it could be the last time the two programs play at the Carrier Dome. The Orange are scheduled to play in the Big East for two more seasons, as the league wants to hold them to a 27-month exit plan.

No one with rational thought believes West Virginia -- off to the Big 12 next season if you listen to that league and the Mountaineers -- or even Pitt and Syracuse would play two more seasons as a lame duck. The Panthers and Orange will likely hang out for one more season after this, though.

The two teams might play just once next season, and since Syracuse doesn't play Georgetown in Washington this season, that meeting (potentially their final one) might be at the Verizon Center.

"This game means a lot for different reasons,'' Syracuse senior forward Kris Joseph said. "When I used to watch basketball, it was as big as the Carolina-Duke rivalry. For me it's big because my two final schools [to choose between] were Georgetown and Syracuse. It's the tradition. It's big whether it's at Georgetown or at home. It's exciting for the fans and the teams.''

Joseph won't have a say, obviously, but he said he wants to see this rivalry continue after Syracuse's move.

"I think it should since it's something a lot of people look forward to every year,'' Joseph said. "Just because they change conferences, it shouldn't matter. This has been done for so long every year that it should continue, whether it's at the Garden or at a neutral site. They should meet up again.''

When Boston College left for the ACC, the Eagles were shunned by the remaining Big East schools except for St. John's and Providence. Pitt was supposed to play BC in the Jimmy V Classic, but the Panthers and the Big East frowned upon it, and the Eagles were subbed out for Indiana in the tournament.

Soon, Pitt and Syracuse will be with BC in the ACC. But the Eagles didn't have the same rich history with either school that Georgetown shares. And that's because the Hoyas and Orange predate UConn's run in the league, when those two schools were the two most successful programs in the Big East.

The personalities of John Thompson Jr. coaching Hoya paranoia and Boeheim coaching comparable pros at Syracuse made for elite matchups for years and years.

"There is so much history between the two and a lot of important games, lot of tough games, lot of close games, played for high stakes,'' Thompson III said.

And this year is no different.

The Orange are the dominant team in the Big East and a Final Four favorite. Georgetown is one of the surprise teams in the league, along with Notre Dame. And that's where the Hoyas are situated heading into Wednesday night. Georgetown is tied with Marquette and Notre Dame in the loss column (three), two games behind Syracuse.

Syracuse big man Fab Melo is back after missing three games while dealing with an academic issue from the first semester. Melo played (14 points, two blocks and three boards) in a rout at St. John's on Saturday.

"I didn't even know he was out,'' Thompson III said.

Thompson III said the Hoyas played "our worst game of the year" at Pitt on Jan. 28. But since then, they've beaten up on Connecticut and South Florida at home, getting continued balance from Jason Clark, Hollis Thompson, freshman Otto Porter and Henry Sims. The Hoyas' defense didn't allow either team to reach 50 points.

Thompson III said the Hoyas can't afford to turn the ball over because the Orange are better than any team in the country at converting those turnovers into points.

Joseph said the Hoyas' ability to spread the Orange on offense can leave them vulnerable. Watching for the back-door cuts will be a must.

Having Melo back gives the Cuse a safety net, though, and Joseph said it makes everything easier on the defensive end. Bench players Dion Waiters, C.J. Fair and Michael Carter-Williams give the Orange just as much offensive punch as their starting lineup.

"This has been fun,'' Joseph said. "Every game we've got the target on our back. This is a great time for us. We've overcome a lot on and off the court this year.''

Georgetown's impromptu fight with a Chinese team, the Bayi Military Rockets, in Beijing in mid-August was not condoned. But it is being privately celebrated for its positive consequence.

The Hoyas (along with Indiana) are one of the most surprising stories of the college basketball season.

And the roots of this success are now being traced back to that bench-clearing brawl on what was supposed to be a rather uneventful summer excursion to China.

"You wish as a coach that the fight didn't happen,'' said Georgetown coach John Thompson III, who along with Indiana's Tom Crean enters the new year as one of the favorites for national coach of the year. "But there's no doubt that it brought this group close together.

"Quite literally, they realized that they are depending on each other and have each other's back,'' Thompson said.

The fight forced Thompson to pull his team off the Olympic Sports Center Stadium court with 9 minutes, 32 seconds left in the game.

Thompson has mentioned the fight throughout the Hoyas' impressive 12-1 start, which includes a sweep of Memphis (once in Maui, once in D.C.), a road win at Alabama and a Big East opening road victory at Louisville.

"It's been broached,'' Thompson said. "It was an unfortunate situation. The instincts tell you to protect yourself and protect your teammates. They all remember. We don't need to watch it. It's not like it happened last year. Everybody was there.''

The foreign trip wasn't just about the fight, and once again, a trip overseas ended up being the precursor to seasonlong success. Duke certainly benefited from a similar trip to China and Dubai. The rotations that are apparent now were formed during these trips. Any NCAA legislation that has looked at taking away these trips for cost is simply naive and foolish. Yet, it tends to be brought up yearly (and it happened again this year, but wasn't adopted). Teams can raise money on their own and have every right to go abroad with their student-athletes (to use the NCAA terms). Sometimes the lessons are educational; other times simply being on the court helps teams develop bonds that can't be duplicated during the season.

And of course, there are opportunities to get sneak peeks at players who are going to have an impact beyond expectations.

Otto Porter fit that description.

"It was evident immediately [on the trip] that this freshman class was going to be ready to help,'' Thompson said. "Otto, more than any other freshman I've coached, was ready to compete at this level. He was the most prepared freshman that I've had in understanding work ethic and caring and commitment. He was the most prepared freshman we've had by far.''

Porter had 14 points on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting performance in the win at Louisville on Dec. 28. He is leading the Hoyas in rebounding at seven per game. Fellow freshman Greg Whittington has been more than capable as a forward in the rotation.

This team has a number of interchangeable parts. Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims, Markel Starks, Jason Clark, Nate Lubick and Jabril Trawick have had no problem incorporating Porter and Whittington. The teams led by Austin Freeman and Chris Wright were guard-dominated, and if those two weren't on in a given night, then the Hoyas could struggle.

There are simply more options on this season's team. "We have a group of kids that is just trying to win games,'' JT3 said. "We've got a group of freshmen [who] are tough kids. We've got versatility. We've got a much more versatile team. I hoped when we put this team together that we would be more versatile.

"Could I sit here in August and/or June and say we would come together like this? No but it has,'' JT3 said.

The Hoyas' schedule was already set for the most part. The Maui trip had been booked and so had the series with Memphis. Playing at Alabama was out of Georgetown's control, since it was part of the SEC-Big East Challenge. And the Big East did Georgetown no favors by sending the Hoyas on the road to start league play at Louisville. It was the second time in four seasons that Georgetown had to start on the road at a possible contender (Greg Monroe's freshman year began with a win at Connecticut). The Big East will tell you that television dictates the best matchups, and those aren't requested until later in the season by ESPN and CBS. Yet, Georgetown has now had two high-profile conference road games in a four-year period before New Year's Day.

And the Hoyas won both. But the last time it happened, Georgetown struggled to a 7-11 conference mark in 2008-09. It doesn't seem like that will be the case after the Louisville win. The Hoyas followed up that victory with a nine-point triumph over Providence at home -- despite playing poorly during that game. They host Marquette on Wednesday night.

"This is a different group, a much different makeup," Thompson said.

If that's the case, Georgetown is in the Big East title race for the long haul.

At this time last year, Ben Hansbrough's name didn't appear on the Wooden Award preseason watch list.

Five months later, he edged out Connecticut's Kemba Walker for Big East Player of the Year.

Using that as a backdrop, let's remember that the list of 50 Wooden nominees is flawed, much like any of the award lists. The Wooden Award does not allow its voters to nominate any freshmen or transfers (either four-year or junior college) on their ballots.

And with college basketball as loaded with talent as any year since 2007-08, narrowing it down to 50 is not easy. So below I've attempted to come up with the names that didn't make it, either as "just missed the cut" omissions or just because they're freshmen or transfers. These guys aren't on the list (which can be found here), but might show up when it's updated during the season.

This group is by no means definitive, either. There's no telling who else might emerge nationally as the games get under way.

Let's take a look …

The omissions (in alphabetical order):

Julian Boyd, Long Island: The Blackbirds are the favorite again in the Northeast Conference and the main reason is because Boyd is back and ready to dominate the stat sheet.

D.J. Cooper, Ohio: The diminutive point guard does a little bit of everything; he averaged 15.8 ppg, 7.5 apg and 5.0 rpg for the Bobcats last season.

Jared Cunningham, Oregon State: Cunningham has some of the best hops in the sport and a chance to be a Pac-12 star, allowing the Beavers to finally move up in the standings this season.

Seth Curry, Duke: Curry was a standout shooter for the Blue Devils on their trip to China and could be one of the top scorers on the team.

Brandon Davies, BYU: Davies was recently reinstated to the Cougars, and the offense is expected to flow through him inside and out as BYU mounts a campaign to win the WCC in its first year in the league.

Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's: SMC coach Randy Bennett envisions this as one of the best teams he's ever had, but a lot of that will have to do with whether Dellavedova can shoot like Mickey McConnell did last season.

Greg Echenique, Creighton: Echenique was a rebounding force for Venezuela this summer and should do even more for the Bluejays with a full season to work with.

TyShwan Edmondson, Austin Peay: The Governors should be the favorite in the Ohio Valley with a legit scorer like Edmondson, who has a strong man, Will Triggs, to take pressure off him.

Kyle Fogg, Arizona: Fogg is next in line to assume a leadership position for the Wildcats, who are in a position to compete for Pac-12 titles for years to come.

Kevin Foster, Santa Clara: As a sophomore, Foster sort of came out of nowhere to average 20.2 ppg and become one of the nation's top 3-point shooters.

Chris Gaston, Fordham: The Rams aren't any good, but the nation's leading returning rebounder (11.3 rpg) at least deserves a shout-out in this space.

Yancy Gates, Cincinnati: UC coach Mick Cronin said he'd be surprised if Gates wasn't one of the 10 names on the Big East preseason first team.

Malcolm Grant, Miami (Fla.): The Hurricanes have to play most of the season without big man Reggie Johnson, so Grant will have more opportunities to shine.

Rob Jones, Saint Mary's: Jones could be a double-double regular for the Gaels, and for Saint Mary's to win the WCC, Jones will have to be a star.

Doron Lamb, Kentucky: John Calipari says Lamb will be the Wildcats' best player. Just Coach Cal mind games, or the truth?

Meyers Leonard, Illinois: Leonard didn't contribute a whole lot as a freshman, but he was a hidden gem on the U.S. U-19 team in Latvia this summer. The Illini are expecting big things out of him.

C.J. McCollum, Lehigh: McCollum is the nation's leading returning scorer (21.8 ppg) and is in the top five in steals (2.5 spg). Oh, and he did that as a freshman. What more do you need to know?

Cameron Moore, UAB: The Blazers have been consistently good under Mike Davis and have had unheralded C-USA stars. Moore is the latest.

Toure' Murry, Wichita State: If the Shockers win the Missouri Valley over Creighton, a lot of the credit will end up going to the veteran Murry.

Brandon Paul, Illinois: Illini coach Bruce Weber was a bit surprised Paul didn't crack the top 50 on the Wooden list, given his overall importance to this team.

Ryan Pearson, George Mason: The Patriots are a trendy pick for the Top 25 and a lot of that has to do with the versatility of Pearson.

Damier Pitts, Marshall: The Thundering Herd are a real sleeper to gain an NCAA tourney berth out of Conference USA in large part because of Pitts.

Herb Pope, Seton Hall: Pope has come back from multiple life-threatening situations and has a real shot as a senior to put it all together and finally shine.

Terrence Ross, Washington: The Huskies can't be dismissed as a major player for the Pac-12 title, and if they win it, Ross will be a significant reason why.

Robert Sacre, Gonzaga: Sacre has matured into a solid post player, and that progress shows no signs of stopping as the Zags once again compete for the West Coast title.

Mike Scott, Virginia: If the sleeper Cavs mount a run to the NCAA tournament, the oft-injured Scott will be the reason why.

Renardo Sidney, Mississippi State: If Sidney is in shape and plays up to his potential, he has SEC Player of the Year potential and could be the difference between the Bulldogs making the NCAAs or NIT.

Andrew Smith, Butler: The Bulldogs will have fewer stars this season, but Smith has a chance to outshine Khyle Marshall and newcomer Roosevelt Jones with his scoring prowess in the post.

Chace Stanback, UNLV: Stanback's suspension to start the season is only one game, so that won't diminish his ability to lead the Rebels in their hunt for a Mountain West title.

Raymond Taylor, Florida Atlantic: FAU quietly won the Sun Belt East Division last season and Mike Jarvis' diminutive point guard was the catalyst behind the regular-season championship.

Hollis Thompson, Georgetown: If the Hoyas are to make the NCAA tournament again and be a pest in the upper half of the Big East, then Thompson needs a breakout season.

Kyle Weems, Missouri State: Doug McDermott is the one everyone is talking about in the Valley, but let's not forget that Weems is the reigning MVC Player of the Year. Too bad for the Bears he's their only returning starter.

Kendall Williams, New Mexico: The sophomore guard was the leading scorer in four postseason NIT games for the Lobos and should only get better with the addition of Australian Hugh Greenwood.

The transfers

Dewayne Dedmon, USC: Trojans coach Kevin O'Neill firmly believes this JC transfer is an NBA talent who could dominate the post and average a double-double for SC.

Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State: The former UTEP big man is ready to have a bust-out season for a team that has serious bounce-back potential after a disappointing 2010-11 campaign.

Mike Rosario, Florida: The former Rutgers scoring guard finally has plenty of support around him and will put up numbers for a winner.

Rakim Sanders, Fairfield: The Boston College transfer should flourish after dropping down a level, and he should get coach Sydney Johnson another trip to the NCAA tourney. Johnson is beginning his first year at Fairfield after leading Princeton to the 2011 tourney.

Royce White, Iowa State: White is finally ready to be a star on the college scene after multiple transgressions at Minnesota.

Brandon Wood, Michigan State: The Spartans picked up a rare senior transfer (taking advantage of the graduate transfer rule) from Valparaiso who could be one of the best shooters in the Big Ten.

Tony Woods, Oregon: The embattled Woods arrived from Wake Forest after legal issues and has a chance to really shine as a double-double player for the first time in his career.

The freshmen

Bradley Beal, Florida: Beal has a chance to be a productive player in a frontcourt that has a vacuum after multiple seniors departed.

Gary Bell Jr., Gonzaga: Coach Mark Few has been anticipating Bell's arrival for over a year now. He's expected to step in and deliver right away.

Wayne Blackshear, Louisville: The Cardinals fancy themselves a Big East title contender, and that's partly because they consider Blackshear a star in the making.

Jabari Brown, Oregon: Brown was the star of the Ducks' trip to Italy with his scoring prowess, and expect that to continue in the Pac-12.

Jahii Carson, Arizona State: There is some question right now as to Carson's eligibility, but if he's good to go, the Sun Devils might become relevant in the Pac-12 again.

Erik Copes, George Mason: Copes was bound for George Washington before Karl Hobbs was fired; now he'll be a headline performer for the Patriots and first-year coach Paul Hewitt.

Anthony Davis, Kentucky: Davis has a chance to be the SEC Player of the Year and the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, so expect him to be on the midseason list when freshmen are allowed.

Andre Drummond, Connecticut: He will be an immediate star and help lift the Huskies into the national title chase again. He's more than likely a future top-five pick in the NBA.

Myck Kabongo, Texas: Coach Rick Barnes has had quite a bit of success with big-time freshmen guards, and Kabongo is next in line.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky: Gilchrist will be another star on what will be a headline team throughout the season.

Johnny O'Bryant, LSU: Coach Trent Johnson needs the Tigers to start trending upward again, and he has a shot with the arrival of the big man from Mississippi.

LeBryan Nash, Oklahoma State: OSU is a bit of a mystery team in the Big 12, but the All-American from Dallas could push the Cowboys into contention.

Austin Rivers, Duke: Rivers will have the ball in his hands quite a bit and appears to be the next Duke star in a lengthy list of recognizable names.

Josiah Turner, Arizona: The Wildcats will win the Pac-12 regular-season title if Turner is as good as advertised.

Cody Zeller, Indiana: If coach Tom Crean is going to turn the Hoosiers into a relevant team this season, it will be because of Zeller and his impact in the Big Ten.

Here are some quick hitters during this crazy week in college sports …

• Villanova is trying to use its rising football program as a way to get in somewhere in the ACC or a Big 12/Big East hybrid. The school is hoping the Philadelphia market and the ability to get its football to FBS status (unlike, say, Georgetown) is attractive. And by the way, Nova is not pleased about the way Pitt helped block the Wildcats from being accepted into the Big East for football.

• If what's left of the Big East became a basketball-driven league, it would still be a very attractive conference. Imagine if the league were Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and possibly Notre Dame, then add Xavier, Butler, Saint Louis, Dayton, Creighton and maybe Saint Joseph's.

• The remaining non-FBS teams in the Big East have to commit to unity for a setup like this to work. The problem with this idea is that it still wouldn't command major media dollars. Non-football conferences don't make the major money. Check out my colleage Dana O'Neil's take on it here.

• The Big East is saying the right things by holding Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month departure bylaw. But it's in the best interest of the remaining Big East schools to let the schools go so that they can figure out what the conference will look like in two or three years. Multiple lame-duck seasons serve no purpose.

• Pitt is having some selective memory these days about refusing to play Boston College after the Eagles broke off to the ACC eight years ago. The Big East office was not a fan of anyone playing the Eagles in anything and made that clear to Pittsburgh. The Panthers were supposed to play BC in the Jimmy V Classic but were replaced with Indiana.

• The Barclays Arena in Brooklyn will provide the New York City area with multiple opportunities to host conference tournaments. The ACC, Big East and A-10 should all have choices for tournaments in the coming years.

• Adding Missouri to the Southeastern Conference makes the most sense for what the league wants from a 14th member. The SEC wants the perception to be that it is adding a new market (St. Louis/Kansas City) and a school that has some respect academically. Texas A&M obviously delivers a major market (Houston) and respect. But there aren't really two other natural schools out there for the SEC to bump up to 16.

• Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott will have to do some serious convincing when he talks to his presidents -- especially the Bay Area ones -- about adding Oklahoma State and Texas Tech with Texas and Oklahoma. I would love to hear that conversation.

• I like that Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson is being proactive, but the proposed MWC-Conference USA confederation to have a football championship that would decide a BCS bid is odd. Would it really produce an automatic qualifier to the BCS? Would there be some sort of basketball agreement?

• Texas would still rather stay in the Big 12 and have all of its program compete in the region. But it all depends on Oklahoma at this point.

• Can you imagine if the ACC added Notre Dame and Connecticut to get to 16? The Irish are always solid under Mike Brey and UConn is a three-time national champ. The top of the ACC would be scary good. But moving up from the bottom would be extremely difficult for some programs. The jobs at Wake Forest and Boston College would get even tougher.

• It really is amazing to think about how much super-conference talk is going on recently and yet Butler played in the last two national championship games and VCU was in the Final Four last season. March reminds us that there are hundreds of others schools competing in Division I and plenty of high-level players and coaches. It's not all about the big boys!

• The NCAA still hasn't decided on the fate of ousted Connecticut athletic director Jeff Hathaway. He's the men's basketball tourney committee chair yet is currently jobless. But a number of former committee members and current Big East officials want Hathaway to be on the committee for this final season as long as the NCAA can figure out a way around him not having a job. Hathaway would be able to focus solely on the task of running the committee, which meets again later in the fall.

• Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is as excited about this season as he has been in years. The Spartans are finally relatively healthy and it's clear some of the issues in the locker room are gone. Meanwhile, North Carolina coach Roy Williams, whose team will face off with Izzo in the Carrier Classic on Nov. 11, said he has been told the pickup games in Chapel Hill involving a number of locked-out NBA players have really helped his crew develop.

• UCLA's Class of 2012 commitments from the East and South, Kyle Anderson (New Jersey) and Jordan Adams (Georgia), continue to show the Bruins are a national program. Every former UCLA coach has consistently said the Bruins can't simply recruit California. UCLA has to be a national player to be a national contender. The recruiting by the Bruins and rival Arizona -- the top two teams in the latest ESPN rankings -- is a credit to Ben Howland and Sean Miller, who cut their teeth recruiting in the cut-throat East Coast. But it also shows that the down cycle of the Pac-12 elite was merely a blip on the radar.

Quick hitters for this Tuesday:

• Florida coach Billy Donovan has been working the mental side of his suddenly loaded perimeter to get the guards ready for a heavy load next season.

The Gators return guards Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Scottie Wilbekin, while also adding Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario, a high-scoring talent who did well in the Big East. Toss in impact-freshman wing Brad Beal and the Gators will tip heavily toward the perimeter with the departures of forwards Alex Tyus, Vernon Macklin and Chandler Parsons. Patric Young, fresh off competing for Team USA at the U-19 World Championships in Latvia, will be the focal point in the post.

"The last two years we played with a lack of depth on the perimeter,'' Donovan said. "Now we add Rosario and Beal and we're going to be a much better shooting team and will have more experience. Now the test is how much will those four guys make each other better.''

Donovan said Rosario had everything run through him at Rutgers and he anticipated he'd be on his way to the NBA after two years. But it didn't happen. Now he has to check the ego at the door and become a winner, something that never materialized at Rutgers.

Donovan said he has told Walker that he wants him to lead the SEC in assists since there will be more than enough offense on the wings this season. Walker's assists actually went down from his sophomore to junior year, from 4.9 to 3.4 a game.

"We want everyone to understand a good shot,'' Donovan said. "I'm excited with the challenges of dealing with the guards.''

Donovan said Kentucky will have the most talent in the SEC, while Vanderbilt returns its team intact and will also be a contender. But he fully expects the Gators to be right in the mix for the SEC title.

• Duke held its first two practices on Sunday and Monday in advance of the team's trip to China and Dubai next month. Duke will take a break this week as the coaches go on the road recruiting, but the team will resume workouts here shortly.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the practices will be a huge benefit for the Blue Devils in trying to figure out how to play this season, let alone on the trip.

"We're giving these guys opportunities to show us who they are,'' Krzyzewski said. "How we do this trip obviously won't be how we do the season. We have to get to know our guys, not just individually but how they interact with each other. It's a great opportunity for us, a big-time trip.''

This will be Krzyzewski's first time to see all three Plumlees on the floor together in competitive games. Marshall Plumlee joins his older brothers Mason and Miles on the Blue Devils' roster.

"Marshall is a real good player with a great attitude,'' Krzyzewski said. "It's time for Miles and Mason to take a huge step forward as a senior and junior. That's the same for Seth [Curry] and Andre [Dawkins]. Seth would normally be a senior [after transferring from Liberty]. Andre is a junior but he's finally older [on the court] since he's still only 19 [he came to school early out of high school]. It's a rite of passage for these guys.''

Krzyzewski said there is plenty of work to do but he's pleased with the early progress. This is the first time the Blue Devils have taken an overseas trip since they went to London in October 2002.

"Most schools do this every four years, but with my involvement in USA basketball we haven't been able to,'' Krzyzewski said. "Another benefit of winning the World Championships last summer is that we can go to China and Dubai. This is great for us.''

The title last summer in Turkey allowed the Americans to qualify for the London Olympics so they wouldn't have to this summer, giving Krzyzewski the summer off from USA Basketball.

• The summer lockout could help BYU prep even more for its trip to Greece in August. Jimmer Fredette is expected in Provo next month to work out, and BYU coach Dave Rose is hopeful that former Cougars can scrimmage against the current crop in preparation for the trip.

• The benefits of being in the West Coast Conference are already helping the Cougars in scheduling. The WCC had no issue holding off its formation of the conference schedule to work in a bye date for BYU so it could schedule a home-and-home series with Virginia Tech with the first game in Blacksburg in January. The return game will be the following year in Salt Lake City.

• Kansas' staff continues to believe that Thomas Robinson is headed for a banner season after sitting behind three first-round draft picks -- Cole Aldrich and the Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff -- the past two seasons. Robinson is expected to be the go-to guy at forward for the Jayhawks. Apparently Elijah Johnson is also ready to take on even more of a featured role.

• In discussing the Big 12 race with a few coaches, the one school that keeps coming up as the favorite may be surprising to some: Texas A&M. The Aggies return the core of their team from a year ago, led by Khris Middleton. The consensus seems to be that the coaching change from Mark Turgeon to Billy Kennedy is similar enough that there shouldn't be a hiccup.

• The Maui Invitational bracket is being worked on this month with an expected announcement coming soon. A few things you can expect: Duke won't play Chaminade in the first round and Memphis won't play Tennessee, since the two teams have a regular series. Duke doesn't like to play non-Division I teams and makes it quite clear when it signs up for these events that it would rather not be matched in the first round with the host school.

If the tournament were seeded it would probably go: 1. Duke; 2. Memphis; 3. Michigan; 4. Kansas; 5. UCLA; 6. Georgetown; 7. Tennessee; 8. Chaminade. But the tournament won't be matched by seeds. One possible grouping that makes sense based on the parameters is: Kansas-Chaminade and UCLA-Memphis on one side of the bracket; Georgetown-Michigan and Duke-Tennessee on the other. No one would deny that a possible Duke-Kansas final helps the overall health of the tournament and would rate well. But KU would have to possibly get by Conference USA-favorite Memphis and that's with the assumption that Duke can beat Michigan if the two were to meet in the semifinals. The Blue Devils defeated the Wolverines by just two in last season's NCAA tournament.

BYU will be a focal point of discussion for the NCAA tournament selection committee throughout next week, according to a former committee member, after the Cougars' top rebounder, Brandon Davies, was dismissed from the team for an honor code violation.

The former committee member, who wanted to remain anonymous, said BYU is "a different team without that guy, there's no question. For this to happen so late in the season, it makes it a compelling issue."

The former committee member said a good comparison for BYU would be last season's Purdue squad. When Robbie Hummel suffered a season-ending injury in a win over Minnesota on Feb. 24, the Boilermakers were 24-3, 12-3 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers lost their next game at home against Michigan State, but then ripped off three wins in a row before losing again to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. So Purdue went 3-2 without Hummel before Selection Sunday and received a respectable No. 4 seed.

"Purdue dropped without Hummel, and my read after watching BYU lose to New Mexico is that BYU will drop as well," the former committee member said. "The interesting thing is, could San Diego State benefit from BYU's demise now? It's not going to be easy, but I was wondering if BYU was a No. 1 seed even before all of this. Obviously it's all open to interpretation."

BYU isn't the only team that will be thoroughly examined when it comes to seeding.

Florida State heads into Sunday's game at NC State without Chris Singleton for the fifth straight game. Singleton, the team's best all-around player, broke his right foot in a win over Virginia on Feb. 12. In his absence, the Seminoles won at Wake Forest, lost at Maryland, beat Miami and then lost to North Carolina on Wednesday on Harrison Barnes' 3-pointer. The Seminoles are confident that Singleton will be back -- soon, although he was still in a boot on the bench Wednesday.

Georgetown's Chris Wright broke his left, non-shooting hand in a loss against Cincinnati on Feb. 23. The Hoyas lost that game and then the next one against Syracuse. Wright had surgery and the Hoyas are expecting him back this season, but it's still unknown when.

"All these are legitimate issues that will be discussed by the committee and could have a bearing on actual selection into the tournament or seed," the former committee member said, "and if the question is on seed, then how far do they drop?"

The committee had to deal with this issue a year ago when Syracuse lost Arinze Onuaku, who was hurt in the Orange's Big East tournament loss to Louisville. The committee checked to see if Onuaku would return before seeding the Orange. Syracuse still received a No. 1 seed.

Syracuse had to let the committee know, according to those close to the situation, if and when Onuaku would return. The Orange may have received a No. 1 seed regardless of that information. But the committee has to evaluate what it is being told, what it knows more than what might occur.

The committee member who might have the toughest time next week is Utah State athletic director Scott Barnes. He has to recuse himself when the Aggies are discussed, whether for selection or seeding. They will be in a precarious position if they lose in the WAC tournament.

Also, the committee won't give any special attention to Alabama for winning the SEC West. There are no designations on any of the team sheets that state a team has won a conference division. The teams are presented as individual teams, not with conference affiliation.

The Big East was supposed to take a back seat to the Big Ten in the conference rankings.

So far no other conference is close to the Big East -- at least in winning early season tournaments.

The Big East has won six traditional tournaments (those with at least semifinals and finals played on a neutral court):

Pitt beat Texas to win the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York.
Georgetown beat NC State to win the Charleston Classic.
Connecticut beat Kentucky to win the Maui Invitational.
Syracuse beat Georgia Tech to win the Legends Classic in Atlantic City.
Notre Dame beat Wisconsin to win the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
St. John's beat Arizona State to win the Great Alaska Shootout.
West Virginia lost to Minnesota in the final of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Villanova lost in the final to Tennessee in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

On the flip side, DePaul had an 0-3 showing in the 76 Classic in Anaheim and Seton Hall won only one game in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. Marquette failed to reach the title game at the CBE Classic in Kansas City, losing in the semifinals to No. 1 Duke.

But those last three are hardly blemishes for the league. The six wins and the two title losses speak much louder to its overall strength.

"Every year the media wants to come up with another best league, some other conference," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. "Yet, we've done this year after year. We're easy to dismiss. But then we'll beat each other up in January and February and our RPI won't be as high so we won't get as many higher seeds."

The wins by Pitt, Georgetown, Syracuse and St. John's, based on the overall fields in each tournament, shouldn't have been a shock.

More surprising was Notre Dame winning in Orlando and certainly Connecticut's run in Maui.

The Irish were picked seventh in the Big East by the coaches in the preseason; UConn was picked 10th.

Notre Dame had to knock off a possible SEC darling in Georgia (playing without a healthy Trey Thompkins at the start of the event), then an offensively challenged Cal before disposing of the always pesky Wisconsin. UConn, though, had the more formidable task of beating Missouri Valley favorite Wichita State, then Big Ten favorite Michigan State and the uber-talented Kentucky.

"We're going to get eight bids [to the NCAA tournament] again," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "That's what it looks like based on these early returns."

Connecticut has a national player of the year candidate in Kemba Walker. The Huskies also have some time to avoid a hangover from their Maui win with a soft five-game schedule (save a game against a surging Harvard, which just beat Colorado) prior to their Big East opener at Pitt on Dec. 27. The Huskies' next major nonconference games aren't until January (at Texas on Jan. 8 and home against Tennessee on Jan. 22).

Meanwhile, Notre Dame's week includes a matchup with Valley upstart Indiana State on Tuesday before going to Kentucky on Dec. 8 and then hosting Gonzaga on Dec. 11.

"It's a Big East week," Brey said. "That's why we set it up. There's nothing like having this experience."

Brey said the experience of having Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough, Tyrone Nash, Carleton Scott and even Purdue transfer Scott Martin play three games in four days in Orlando paid off. Brey also got much-needed scoring out of freshman guard Eric Atkins in Orlando, who scored 12 points in the title win over Wisconsin on Sunday night.

"We need Atkins and Martin to emerge for us to be really good," Brey said. "Ultimately, those two guys played well and found a rhythm. I really love this team. I've got a good vibe about them now. I'm so impressed with their focus and concentration. They all chased a common goal."

And that was to win a tournament championship. Ultimately by doing that, just like Georgetown, UConn, Pitt, Syracuse and St. John's did, the Irish proved that the Big East will have the depth to be an even tougher conference with enough good teams to possibly land 50 percent of its membership in the NCAAs in March.

College basketball starts with a heavy dose of weekend games, before ESPN's 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon offers up a slew of must-see affairs Tuesday. But before looking forward, there must be some housecleaning done on a few issues. So here are my first impressions from a sprinkling of games this week:

Name to remember: Maryland freshman point guard Pe'Shon Howard

The offseason question for the Terps was who would replace Greivis Vasquez's leadership, moxie and overall late-game magic. The answer came rather quickly toward the end of the College of Charleston game. Howard made not just one, but two big-time shots to beat the Cougars. The second was all Howard, taking the ball down court and hitting a fall-back dagger of a jumper to win the game at the last second. I loved Maryland coach Gary Williams' stunned face as the buzzer sounded. He was obviously relieved, but also had to be thrilled that he had found a player who shares Vasquez's drive to do something special when the game matters most. Howard was an efficient 8-of-11 (2-of-7 at the line, though) in two games this week, scoring 19 points, dishing out 12 assists and snagging five steals.

Illinois can score: The Fighting Illini have been offensively challenged in recent years (who can forget the 38-33 loss to Penn State in '09?). But in two games this week -- albeit against poor competition -- Illinois averaged 81.5 points a game. That bodes well for a team that has plenty of talent that can push the basketball (expect games against North Carolina and at Gonzaga to be high-scoring affairs).

Texas has another stud freshman: Forward Tristan Thompson averaged 14.5 points in two games, but was even more impressive with a 17-point, seven-rebound, three-steal performance in a win over Louisiana Tech on Wednesday.

Pitt will rely on its veteran backcourt to win big: The Panthers played without injured forward Nasir Robinson in the first two games, and the consistency and production of the frontcourt is still an unknown. But Pittsburgh has two players in Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker who have matured into leaders, reliable scorers and money players in the final few minutes. Jamie Dixon can rely on these two to take over a game when needed. They carry themselves as mature young adults, ready to take the baton of leading Pitt to a possible Final Four.

Still-unresolved situations:

• Baylor coach Scott Drew said in a text message Thursday night that there had been no movement on reinstating senior guard LaceDarius Dunn for Friday's opener against Grambling State. The Bears can get by without Dunn for some time since the schedule is soft until Arizona State on Dec. 2 and Gonzaga in Dallas on Dec. 18.

• Kansas coach Bill Self said in a text Thursday night that he was hopeful there will soon be a resolution on the eligibility of point guard Josh Selby. But it didn't sound promising for the immediate future: Friday's game against Longwood and Monday against Valparaiso. Kansas starts the meat of its nonconference schedule with a rugged seven-game stretch -- Ohio, Arizona, UCLA, Memphis in New York, Colorado State, USC and at California. All of those teams, save perhaps Cal, should be in postseason contention. But the game against the defending Pac-10 champion is in Berkeley, which still makes it a difficult stop.

• Minnesota coach Tubby Smith suspended Devoe Joseph for a violation of team rules. The Gophers open against Wofford and then play Siena on Monday before going to Puerto Rico for three games, starting with Western Kentucky. Joseph is one of the better scorers for the Gophers, but this Minnesota team can take at least one suspension (unlike last season's team). In discussing this with the Minnesota staff Thursday night, I got the sense Joseph will be back sooner rather than later as long as he adheres to Smith's rules.

And now a glimpse at the weekend ahead:

Best games

No. 21 Georgetown at Old Dominion, Friday, 7 p.m. ET: The Monarchs are a CAA cofavorite, while Georgetown is a top-five Big East team. The Hoyas, who have lost two of their past three against the Monarchs, will be entering a rocking arena and will have to play well to win. This should have a February feel to it. Clearly, an ODU win will have more shelf life than a Georgetown road win. And the Hoyas have already started the season with one setback, as the school announced Friday that freshman center Moses Ayegba has to sit out the first nine games because someone who wasn't an immediate family member paid for his plane ticket to come to the United States before he enrolled in high school.

Northern Iowa at No. 13 Syracuse, Friday, 7 ET (ESPN3): Don't be fooled into thinking this is the same Panthers team that upset Kansas. It's not. The Panthers lost too much of that squad to be looked at as a major threat to win at the Carrier Dome. But they will test the Orange zone. How well Kris Joseph emerges as the go-to guy and the impact of Fab Melo along the backline will be interesting developments to track.

Seton Hall at No. 22 Temple, Friday, 7:30 ET: The Pirates have been flying under the radar during all the Big East preseason talk, but still have enough talent to be a major player in the league's muddled middle. Meanwhile, Temple is the Atlantic 10 favorite and the one school at the top of the conference that has had no drama in the offseason. But a loss here at home could start the questions for Fran Dunphy's group.

Sneaky game to watch

Southern Miss at South Florida, Friday, 7 ET: The Golden Eagles project themselves as a real threat to take down Memphis in Conference USA. The Bulls are rebuilding a bit after losing Dominique Jones to the NBA. But USF is still a Big East team that won 20 games last season, so a road win here by Larry Eustachy's crew will go a long way toward earning credibility.

Notable debuts

East Tennessee State at No. 10 Kentucky, Friday, 7 ET (ESPN3): How well Brandon Knight plays at the point, Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones play on the wing and Eloy Vargas plays inside will all be interesting subplots for an Enes Kanter-less Kentucky squad. Don't forget that ETSU has gone to the NCAA tournament in each of the past two years. An upset is highly unlikely, but a young UK team had all sorts of problems with teams like Miami (Ohio) and Sam Houston State early this past season.

North Carolina A&T at No. 5 Ohio State, Friday, 7 ET (ESPN3): The Buckeyes' new stud forward, Jared Sullinger, is being billed as the possible Big Ten player/freshman of the year. Let's see if he lives up to the early-season hype.

Lipscomb at No. 9 North Carolina, Friday, 7 ET: The Tar Heels will be major players if freshman Harrison Barnes is a stud. This is our first look at America's No. 1 recruit, his fellow stud freshmen and a motivated group of UNC returnees.

Chattanooga at No. 20 Tennessee, Friday, 9 ET: The Vols have been the center of controversy this offseason due to the admitted NCAA violations by head coach Bruce Pearl and his staff. Then Tennessee lost an exhibition game to Indianapolis this week and had the critics howling. But the focus can, at least for now, return to the court and the expectations around Tobias Harris in his first game.

Detroit at New Mexico, Saturday, 9:30 ET: The Titans start the season at the refurbished Pit and get to unveil the hyped Ray McCallum Jr. The Lobos will play Tennessee transfer Emmanuel Negedu, who had to have a defibrillator put in his chest after he nearly died in 2009.

Tricky road starts

San Diego State at Long Beach State, Saturday, 7 ET: The MWC favorites begin a five-game road swing to start the season that will take them next to Spokane and then to Oxford, Ohio. Long Beach State is a Big West title contender and a heck of an opening challenge for a team with the highest expectations in SDSU history.

Florida State at UNC Greensboro, Sunday, 3:30 ET: The Seminoles, who fancy themselves to be a possible second-place finisher in the ACC, are going out of their way to challenge themselves this season with interesting road games. Florida State also goes to FIU on Nov. 18 and Loyola Marymount on Dec. 18 before opening up the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu with a true road game against host Hawaii on Dec. 22.