(Note:  You can also read this article and other NCAA basketball articles at Bleacher Report.)

It is time to look at the next batch of conferences in this series that honors the true forces in NCAA basketball, the fruitcakes who like to play Jekyll and Hyde, and the frauds that have been exposed (or are in the process of being exposed) as overrated. 

This edition examines the Big Ten, Big XII, CAA, and Conference USA. The analysis continues to move in alphabetical order to avoid any charges of bias.

For complete definitions and a thorough look at the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, and Big South, click here. To quickly wrap up what has already been discussed, I’ve provided the following table, with a couple of sentences for the conferences not already examined in-depth. Read the rest of this entry »

After a little over two months of the college basketball season, there is now enough information, including a few conference matchups, to make some early judgments on where the teams stand vis-a-vis their preseason expectations.

After looking at the major and many of the mid-major conferences, I have concluded that nearly every one of them has at least one “force,” one “fraud,” and one “fruitcake” (a team that would make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proud).

The definitions are as follows:

The Force: This is a team that much is or was expected of, and they are delivering on those expectations.  They are not just winning now; they will continue to win.  They must be a legitimate threat to win the regular-season conference title.  They need not have been a preseason favorite, but they need to have proven that they are “the real thing.”

The Fruitcake (pictured above): This is a team that you don’t want to place any wagers on.  One day, they might take down a top-5 team; the next, they may lose to a mediocre team from the Atlantic 10.  They are the Jekylls and Hydes…one can never be sure which team will show up on any given day.

The Fraud: This is a team that either has a gaudy record because they have been beating up on inferior opponents or has been thoroughly underwhelming not because they lack the talent, but because they were overrated to begin with.  They may or may not have been exposed yet, but are candidates for a one-and-done in March, if they are playing in the NCAA tournament at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Conventional wisdom has it that three conferences (the ACC, Big East and Big Ten) have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Bleacher Creatures appear to see it differently, clearly tiering the conferences into just two at the top and three more a significant step behind. Read ahead to find which conferences fall where in the first installment of the Conference Rankings, compiled from lists submitted by fans from coast to coast.

If you would like to read the original version of Conference Rankings (which were my own rankings only), you can read the long version here or the short version here. If you like a good background story, it will get you up to speed on most of what happened in November and December. Read the rest of this entry »

North Carolina (12-0, 0-0 ACC) continued what could be a fairy-tale season by drubbing Big East foe Rutgers (9-4, 0-0 Big East) 97-75 Sunday evening. Rutgers closed within 12 points in the second half, but could not sustain enough momentum to get the lead to single digits.

Senior All-American and Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough led the way with 26 points on 10 of 15 shooting (.667) and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.  He was also perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all six of his free throw attempts. 
Read the rest of this entry »

Hakeem Nicks did all he could for North Carolina (8-5, 4-4 ACC). 

He took three of T.J. Yates’ passes for touchdowns and totaled 217 yards in a performance that will likely increase the likelihood that Nicks departs for the greener pastures of the NFL.  He may, in fact, corral quite a bit of green as a potential 2nd-round WR pick.

A fourth-quarter fumble by Shaun Draughn on the Mountaineers’ 29-yard line and an interception carelessly tossed by Yates in the final possession were the final nails in the coffin, but the Tar Heels also failed to stop West Virginia’s passing game and 3rd-down offense.

West Virginia quarterback Pat White was an incredibly efficient 27 of 33 for 334 yards.  He also ran for 56 yards on 21 attempts, though UNC was much more effective at stopping his legs than they were his arm.  The Mountaineers continuously converted short third downs (12 of 19 overall), and yet the Heels still had more than enough opportunities to win the game.

Draughn’s fumble can mostly be excused.  He was wrapped up and almost down, with his legs bent awkwardly under him.  He held tight to the ball, but it was ripped away before any elbow, buttock, knee, arm, etc. could find the turf first.

Yates’ interception, on the other hand, was totally inexcusable.  He stared down his receiver, threw into heavy coverage, and was easily picked off.

This is the way the regular season went.  When North Carolina secured the football, they won, compiling a +8 turnover margin in their eight wins.  In the four games they lost, the Tar Heels had a far less impressive -4 turnover margin.

This team, and their leader Yates, will be presumably more mature and obviously more experienced when they take the field next fall.  Hopefully, there will be a lower incidence of unacceptable mistakes like Yates’ 4th-quarter interception. 

Though they will lose senior playmaker Brandon Tate and possibly Nicks (to the NFL), there are plenty of reasons for UNC to be hopeful for 2009, including another strong recruiting class on the way.

Butch Davis might want to duct tape a football to every single offensive player’s hands in the offseason.  The lesson is simple.  Give the ball to the other team and you are going to lose.

This is an abbreviated version for those who don’t want to read all the details of the longer post.  The long version can be found here.

For those of who you would prefer “a number and a nugget,” I’ve produced this shorter version.  As always, I strongly encourage you (for better or for worse) to comment on the rankings.

I’d like very much to see your rankings as well, and if there is enough interest, I may even compile them much like Jameson does with the teams’ rankings each week.

Here they are, short and sweet:

1.  Atlantic Coast

UNC, Duke and Wake Forest may very well be the top three teams in the nation.  The “middle of the pack” all have similar resumes:  difficult schedule, quality wins against ranked and unranked opponents, and a lack of bad losses.  Virginia is beyond awful, but even Virginia Tech is improving.  VMI has the best win in the state of Virginia right now (over Kentucky).

1a.  Big Ten

They are close enough to the ACC that I had to designate them “1a.” instead of “2.”  This weekend alone, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Purdue all notched impressive victories over Louisville, Texas, and Davidson, respectively. 

The conference also suffered some disappointing losses, with Iowa dropping a game to Drake and Northwestern losing to Stanford.  Penn State, Wisconsin, and Northwestern have all cooled off after hot starts.

Ultimately, the bottom of the Big Ten is slightly better than the ACC, the top is slightly worse, and the ACC gets the edge by winning the middle—by a very small margin, just like the result of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

3.  Big East

The losses at the top are mounting: Louisville to Western Kentucky and Minnesota, Syracuse to Cleveland State, Marquette to a Tennessee team that lost to Temple and could only beat Belmont by two, Georgetown also to Tennessee, and Notre Dame to UNC and Ohio State, though the Buckeyes are better than advertised. 

Connecticut and Pittsburgh remain undefeated, but the Huskies barely beat Buffalo and would have lost to Gonzaga had the Bulldogs not mishandled nearly every possession in the final minute of regulation.  The Panthers faced their first competition of any significance last night and were losing deep into the second half against Florida State.

With a poorly finished basement (Providence, DePaul, Rutgers, South Florida) and too many close calls or stunning losses at the top, the Big East has lost the right to be ranked above the ACC or Big Ten…for now.
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