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2. Is Michigan State still a top-10 team with three losses?

Michigan State has more losses than St. Bonaventure, Furman or Boise State, and we're still weeks away from Christmas. But does that mean a preseason top-five team was overrated? After Tuesday's defeat in the Jimmy V Classic, the Spartans have lost to three top-10 teams: Connecticut, Duke and Syracuse. Power 16.

• "Im not the least bit worried. Right now it's not about rankings for MSU. It's all about preparing for March. Even though they are losing, MSU is becoming a stronger team after these tough games. They will prove they are a top 5 team come March." -- SN commenter kingbuff

• Vote on Jimmy V Classic: Syracuse vs. Michigan St. | Kansas vs. Memphis
• Rank 'Em: Are all four teams in tonight's Jimmy V Classic in your Power 16?

The Final Four long ago outgrew arenas like Madison Square Garden, but in addition to raising money for a great cause, will tonight's Jimmy V Classic offer at least a partial preview of what we may see in April at Reliant Stadium in Houston?

Only No. 4 Kansas currently ranks among the top quartet as it prepares to face No. 14 Memphis (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET), but it seems unwise to count out the Tigers or No. 7 Syracuse and No. 8 Michigan State, who square off in tonight's second game (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET). None of the top four teams at this time last season eventually made it to Indianapolis, those latter teams instead ranking No. 7 (West Virginia), No. 8 (Duke), No. 14 (Michigan State) and No. 20 (Butler).

Scott (South Dakota)

Hey Fran - how good are the Jayhawks this year? Longtime fan, so I've been duped by some good pre-season rankings and regular season results. How "good" are they in reality? Thanks!!

Fran Fraschilla

You've been duped by regular season results? What planet have you been on? Has anybody had a better run than Bill Self? Remember, Roy Williams and Larry Brown lost NCAA tournament games as well. I really like this Kansas team. Offensively it has a lot of weapons and will certainly be improved once Josh Selby is eligible on Dec. 18. Marcus Morris just might be the most versatile forward behind Singler and his brother does great dirty work. If UCLA exposed an Achilles heel defensively last week, it was in pounding the ball inside against the twins and Thomas Robinson. Overall they are a top five team and one of my picks to get to the Final Four. Full transcript

dave (ri)

has the [V Foundation] helped anyone in your family?

Nick Valvano

As a matter of fact, my brother's middle daughter Jamie, who is 38, was diagnosed five years ago with breast cancer. I wouldn't say it's research that we funded that [means] she's cancer free right now, but it was research that was done years ago that helped her. It's kind of eerie that in his ESPYS speech he said that the research might help someone in his family and it did. Full transcript

• Vote: Will No. 1 Duke handle No. 6 Michigan State tonight?
• Rank 'Em: Who are the best college basketball coaches?

Denied yet again, Mike Krzyzewski begins anew building a case for Sports Illustrated's sportsman of the year when Duke hosts Michigan State tonight (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET). Actually, since we've still got 31 days of 2010 left to work with, maybe this is just the preseason for next year's award. But we digress.

We don't really have a problem with Drew Brees capturing SI's honor, but did anyone on the planet really have a better year than Coach K? He guides Duke to another NCAA championship with a win against Butler -- in Indianapolis, no less. Then he guides Team USA, minus most of its biggest stars, to a world championship with a win against Turkey -- in Turkey, no less. And now he has an unbeaten and top-ranked Blue Devils team that might actually be better than last season's squad.

Jason (Baltimore)

Andy, love your insight! Was wondering if Duke wins again this year with college basketball being what it is, could Coach K be in the argument for greatest college coach of all time? Better then Wooden?

Andy Katz

I think you have to have that discussion. Harder to win now then during Wooden's era. Also adding in Olympics now pushes K into elite company. No one will ever match Wooden's 10 titles. But K can't be too far behind. Of course the major difference is Wooden will have more of a legacy on his influence on the game and his wise words that have entered the vernacular in the sport. Wooden will be 1 for the overall package, but K has to be in the top five with his success. Full transcript

• Rank 'Em: Where does Duke rank among the best teams in the nation?
• Vote: Which conference will be stronger at season's end?

For the majority of its existence, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has been dominated by the ACC. The conference has a 10-1 record in the challenge, its loss coming in 2009. That loss could have be a sign of things to come -- our experts picked the Big Ten to prevail -- but that was before last night's stunner of a game, however, with Virginia knocking off Minnesota 87-79 in the challenge opener. Fortunately for the Big Ten, it has its own powerhouse team in the form of Michigan State taking on top-ranked Duke in the series finale. The whole slate of games is being broadcast across ESPN's family of networks, so make sure to tune in.

• "I'm surprised that even one expert picked Duke to lose to MSU. No one looks better than Duke right now and State has been less than impressive. But I will say that MSU has just as much, if not more, experience as Duke. This might easily be the same situation as the one from two years ago where State plays an ACC team twice in one year with a championship on the line. Should be an awesome game! This game might decide the winner of the challenge too." -- ChaseP2510
• "The reality is the Big Ten from top to bottom is probably slightly better than the ACC this year. You could argue the same for last year. The problem is the ACC in the last two seasons has been as bad as it has been in a long time. Yet in those two seasons the national champs have come from ... the ACC, which has won five of the last 10 titles. Duke looks ready to repeat this year, and the ACC as a whole should be much better next year." -- Bigtymer301202

• Vote: Which current college coaching stars are at their schools for life?
• Rank 'Em: Is Tom Izzo one of the five best coaches in college basketball?
• More from ESPN.com: Reaction to Izzo's decision from College Basketball Nation blog.

Not that Tom Izzo doesn't get his share of talent at Michigan State, but the scales seem to tip toward the coaching side of things more than the recruiting side when it comes to explaining his success. So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that after failing to recruit LeBron James to remain in Cleveland -- or at least failing to get him to answer the phone and talk about it -- Izzo will stay right where he is in East Lansing.

But does the end of the coach's flirtation with the Cavaliers really mean he's at Michigan State for life, or was this a sign he has an itch to eventually try another challenge?

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are still left with the first of what they hope will be one significant vacancy to fill (we're not counting Danny Ferry as significant, sorry). SportsNation blogger cvgolfguy thinks time is of the essence.

• "I think now it would be in the Cavs interest right now to hire Byron Scott before someone else snags him. I think, unless Phil Jackson doesn't want to be in LA next year, that Scott is the best head coach available for vacant spots." -- Read cvgolfguy's full post.

“

Izzo is a smart guy, although he turned down the quick buck on the NBA job, he will have better long term security at MSU over the long haul and still make more cash over all. Plus he won't have to move his family or live in a big city, sell his house when the market is down, yada yada.

” -- barteltd

“

Izzo would of choked in the NBA. He made a great choice to backdown from the challenge.

” -- wastedyouth419

• Vote: What will happen in Super Tuesday games at Wisconsin and Kentucky?
• Rank 'Em: Where is Michigan State in your Power 16? | Chat: Pat Forde, 3 ET

It's getting to be that time, SportsNation. Football season wraps up Sunday. The NBA All-Star Game is a nice diversion, but we're still months away from playoff games. It's about that time of year when we start to pay attention to guys like John Calipari. Well, unless you're John Wall.

By SportsNation's count, Wall backtracked a little more deftly from his weekend comments than golfer Scott McCarron did in essentially suggesting cheating does not a cheater make. But all eyes in the hoops world will still be on the freshman star when Kentucky hosts Ole Miss tonight (ESPN. 7 p.m. ET).

A Big Ten showdown follows that, as Michigan State and Wisconsin (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) attempt to prove there is such a thing as a showdown in the league. Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology gives the Big Ten fewer spots than the SEC and Atlantic 10. Is it really that weak?

Peter (Madeline Island)

What are the Badgers going to have to key in on tonight to knock off Sparty in Madison?

Andy Katz

Rebound. The Badgers must rebound against Sparty. The atmosphere should be a classic Kohl game. Full transcript

Terry (the 'Burgh)

If the Big East is most years arguably the USA's strongest mens hoops league, including (maybe) this year, then why don't we ever come close to getting 70% of our teams into The Big Dance like lesser leagues? Is the resulting number just too big?

Joe Lunardi

Terry, 70 percent is by far the exception. The Big Ten has done it in the 10-team era and no one else. The Pac-10 has never had seven and the ACC never did better than six of nine. Ten is the high end for the Big East, and only if everything breaks perfectly. Full transcript

“

It will be awfully tough for MSU to pull out a win in the Kohl Center. But, out of any B10 team, they should be the one to do it. If MSU wins this one on the road tonight, they prove that they are an extremely tough and disciplined team. #1 seed for the tourney.

” -- amaizenblue402

“

We heard it all year how the Big Ten sucked and couldn't play with the Big East. When State DOMINATED Louisville and handled UConn we thought this trashing and trolling might end. Guess we'll wait until after it happens in this year's tournament to see if they're back again next year.

” -- spartyon790009

• Vote: Will we ever see another undefeated national champion in men's hoops?
• Rank 'Em: Why wait for next week's polls? Rank your post-upset Power 16!
• Chat: Dana O'Neil takes your questions on the post-upset landscape, 11 ET

So about us suggesting yesterday that South Carolina had no chance to beat Kentucky? Oops. Clearly, we should have listened to our old friend Vizzini's advice that you never go up against Devan Downey when an upset of No. 1 is on the line. And anyway, if you want analysis, you go to Andy Katz, Dana O'Neil and Pat Forde. We're just here for our looks.

Kentucky's stunning loss at the hands of the Gamecocks has thrown the race for No. 1 wide open (again). But does it really matter? If this was football, Kansas and Kentucky might be sweating a bit. And Texas could go ahead and book rooms for the Cotton Bowl at this point. Yet through the miracle of a playoff system, they're all still prime championship contenders.

In fact, wherever the two teams end up ranked in next week's polls, are the Jayhawks and Wildcats still the best championship bets out there?

Eric (DE)

Is Eric Bledsoe a legitimate one and done player?

Andy Katz

Can he go after this season? Yes. There is a need for more point guards. Should he go? No. He could use another season and would be the star attraction next season assuming John Wall, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins bolt, too. Of course Kentucky won't be as talented. But Bledsoe still needs to work on his decision-making and distributing. He can shoot and has the natural speed and lateral quickness down. If Kentucky wins the title, though, I fully expect a mad dash to the draft.

Noah R (Miami,Fl)

Andy what are your thoughts on who takes over the number 1 spot if/when Kentucky loses? Seeing Cuse is ranked number 1 in the RPI and top ten sos and has been very impressive do they get the nod over Kansas and Villanova?

Andy Katz

Syracuse would definitely get the nod over Villanova but the debate with Kansas would be interesting to do. Full Tuesday transcript

Any day with college basketball on television is a good thing. A day when college basketball is always on television is a great thing. With the march to the Final Four in Indianapolis underway (and the march to San Antonio for the women), ESPN is showing nothing but basketball Tuesday -- 12 games in 24 hours. And that doesn't even include the games going on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile. At this point, you've already missed the start of class (and Cal State Fullerton upsetting UCLA) but there's still time to salvage the day.

• College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon: Chat all day with ESPN experts and analysts.
• Your Rankings: How does your top 25 look? | Watch: Live on ESPN360.com

“

The benefits of working from home!

” -- usf_football

“

I love the 24 hour marathon -- took Tuesday off from work. Good thing the Monday Night Fooball game is so terrible ... so I can get a nap in after work before the marathon tipoff.

” -- bh4312

It's not a list that Reggie Theus or anyone who gets the coaching gig at USC will have to worry about for the forseeable future, but Andy Katz is talking top 25 in college hoops.

Now that the early-entry candidates for next week's NBA draft are locked in place, Katz has surveyed the landscape and installed Kansas as his team to beat. Here's his top 10, complete with significant representation for the recently beleaguered SEC.

Andy Katz's Top 10
1. Kansas (SN fan group: Rock Chalk Jayhawk)
2. Michigan State (SN fan group: Michigan State Basketball)
3. Texas (SN fan group: Big 12 Twelve Group)
4. Villanova (SN fan group: Villanova Wildcats!)
5. North Carolina (SN fan group: Tar Heel Basketball)
6. Purdue (SN fan group: United States of Boilermakers)
7. Kentucky (SN fan group: Kentucky Basketball Fans)
8. Tennessee (SN fan group: 100% SEC)
9. West Virginia (SN fan group: Mountaineer Nation)
10. Duke (SN fan group: ACC Sports)

• Make your own picks for SportsNation's Summer Top 25