SEC
Southeastern Conference's teams, coaches, style of play.
Kentucky freshman DeMarcus Cousins is used to being the center of attention. That happens when you’re 6-11, 260 pounds.
Along with fellow freshman John Wall, Cousins is one of the big reasons why the Wildcats (21-1) are back among the hoops elite. His stats (16.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 54 percent shooting) aren’t gaudy because he only plays about 21 minutes a game, but he’s one of the country’s most efficient players.
It’s enough to draw comparisons to Shaquille O’Neal. But not because of the production – because of the attention. And all the fouls.
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Everything John Wall does gets magnified.
It happens to the great ones. Every good play is enhanced, every bad one is overanalyzed. That he plays for one of the legendary college basketball programs only amplifies it.
Thus, the din regarding his comments on Saturday. Did he rip into John Calipari? Is the team fracturing? Will Kentucky fade?
Man, that's just noise. Nothing else.
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So what happens now?
Six weeks remain until Selection Sunday. And the last unbeaten team – and new No. 1 – suffered its first loss of the season. Now that everyone’s armor officially has a chink exposed, this is where everything gets interesting.
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Kentucky’s back at No. 1. Not that the blogosphere is going to care.
Not long after the Wildcats resumed the top spot in the AP and coaches’ polls, John Calipari was on SportsCenter, chatting with host John Buccigross about his team’s relative youth and luck in starting 19-0.
Buccigross tried to use that as a segway, but it didn’t work.
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To see No. 1 Texas lose Monday wasn’t a shock. It was merely a confirmation that there’s no dominant college basketball team.
Not that there aren’t really, really good teams out there: Kansas, Syracuse, Duke and Villanova, for starters. Throw in Michigan State, Tennessee or maybe even BYU.
Yet if there’s a dominant college hoops team, John Calipari’s 18-0 Kentucky squad is the closest thing to it. Kind of.
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Those watching Kansas escape Cornell last week got a sneak peak. Anyone watching the Jayhawks during Sunday’s loss to Tennessee saw what could be their biggest issue this season: perimeter defense.
After back-to-back games of teams getting hot from deep – Cornell hit 9 of 26, Tennessee 9 of 18 – perhaps Bill Self’s team either lacks the ability or the will to effectively guard the perimeter.
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Tennessee dismissed star swingman Tyler Smith on Friday, the school announced Friday. The news came roughly a week after Smith, along with teammates Cameron Tatum, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins, were arrested during a traffic stop because police said they found guns and marijuana in the car.
Vols coach Bruce Pearl indefinitely suspended all four players after the incident, but he apparently discovered enough details on Smith that warranted a dismissal.
Now the question is, does this sink the Vols?
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Sports Illustrated’s regional covers drive me crazy.
When the college basketball preview arrives every fall, it’s always a Pac-10 theme that arrives in my Seattle mailbox. This year, it was Washington’s Isaiah Thomas. Arizona State’s James Harden and Briann January were the year before.
What happened to the national cover? Pick a team and stick with it. It doesn’t even have to be No. 1.
Why the complaints? Instead of seeing a college hoops cover with Kentucky’s John Wall in the second week of January, I’ll get the Dallas Cowboys and an NFL playoff preview.
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Guess Santa gave Chandler Parsons his gift a little late.
The Florida guard sent the Gators to a 62-61 win against N.C. State on Sunday thanks to a 75-foot heave that just beat the overtime buzzer.
Ridiculous stat? Florida was just 2-for-23 from beyond the arc before Parsons’ shot.
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Drexel’s role in Kentucky’s big night Monday was simple: Come to Lexington, play a game, then get out of the way when the Commonwealth celebrates the school’s 2,000th win.
For their trouble, the Dragons will collect at least $50,000, and possibly even 80K.
In this economy, that almost makes losing by 40 worth it.
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