Isn't this mentioned in Revelations as a sign of the apocalypse?

Texas A&M Corpus Christi (TAMUCC to the cognoscenti) has a higher RPI than Duke.

Better than #1?

In Yoni's absence: some guest-blogging from Big Ten Wonk....

With Illinois perched atop the polls as a consensus number 1, your intrepid blogger indulges in some parlor-game speculation and poses the following scary question: would the Illini be even better today had Bill Self chosen to stay as head coach in April 2003 instead of leaving to take the Kansas job? (Or, if you like, think of it in even more O. Henry-esque terms: would Illinois be even better if North Carolina's Sean May had not injured his foot in practice in December 2002, which resulted in a catastrophic 17-15 season for the Tar Heels, which resulted in the firing of Matt Doherty, which resulted in the hiring of Roy Williams, which resulted in the vacancy that lured Self away from Illinois--the only such vacancy that could have done so, if Self is to be believed?)

Would Illinois be even better? The arguments on either side might run like this:

No. First of all there is nothing better than number 1. Second, the precise qualities for which the Illini are being praised--selfless (har!) ball movement on offense and hustling help defense--were somewhat or even greatly diminished under Self, whether because of the different system (Self ran a high-post offense with lots of high-low action; Bruce Weber runs a motion offense wherein the 5 can be and often is out by the arc setting screens) or merely the different developmental stages of the players (today's starting five all played under Self and they all--most strikingly Luther Head--play much better defense today than two years ago).

Yes. For one thing Connecticut's Charlie Villanueva would be wearing an Illinois jersey. He'd committed to Illinois and when Self took the Kansas job Villanueva looked long and hard at Kansas before choosing the Huskies. His play is often listless, it's true, but it's at least the listless play of a 6'11" former McDonald's All-American. And who's to say that Self would not have landed Missouri's Kalen Grimes? Or that--before bolting to the NBA, which he doubtless would have done in any event--Peoria product and current LA Clipper Shaun Livingston would not have at least declared for Illinois, as he did for Duke, giving the Illini the resulting prestige and in-state recruiting hegemony? Lastly, the Illini almost certainly would not have suffered as they did last December and January. Without struggling to learn a new system and adapt to a new coach, Illinois would have suffered fewer losses, secured a higher seeding in the tournament, and gone further, thus resulting in an even stronger program going into this season.

No one really knows the right answer, of course. But I'll close with the following words on behalf of both coaches.

In defense of Self: though not putting up the gaudy assist-to-field-goal percentages that are currently the talk of the national hoops commentariat, Illinois teams under Self did lead the Big Ten in assists. As for defense, the 2002-03 team was young and young teams, generally, don't play defense well. But Self's other two (older) Illinois teams did defend well--just ask Kansas, completely shut down in the 2001 regional semi's, despite starting three future NBA players: Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison. (I still remember what Frank Williams did on defense to Hinrich in that game, with Bill Walton doing the commentary and raving in Walton-esque hyperbole all the while, and wonder how Williams can't find a starting spot in the NBA.)

In defense of Weber: Villanueva is no loss--better to have him jogging up the court, missing three's and getting into foul trouble in Storrs than in Champaign. And Self was able to land recruits like Dee Brown and Deron Williams in large part because they saw, rightly, opportunities for playing time. (Conversely, with Brown and Williams established in the program and projected for minutes far into the future, legendary recruiter Self lost Brown's high school teammate and in-state prospect Shannon Brown to Tom Izzo and Michigan State.) The test for Weber is who he can land now that those minutes are once again becoming available in the near future.

Tonight at MSG

How about open comments for the double-header at Madison Square Garden tonight?

Pitt-Memphis at 7pm.

Syracuse-Oklahoma St. sometime around 9.

Extra topic: most annoying/stupid/inane/"say what?" thing Dick Vitale says tonight. I expect a lot of nominees.

Game of the year. Maybe.

In Yoni's absence: some guest-blogging from Big Ten Wonk....

Last week's Wake Forest-Illinois game drew an almost Final Four-esque plurality of the national hoops commentariat. When Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery, Mike DeCourcy, Andy Katz, and Luke Winn are all under one roof, something is afoot.

What was not afoot, alas, was a good game. But there's a little get-together tomorrow night that, for my money, has all the promise of last week's game, if not more. I can't wait for Syracuse-Oklahoma State, the nightcap at the Jimmy V. Classic in the Garden.

A non-Big-East type such as your intrepid blogger turns his gaze upon this year's Orangemen and discovers with a start that they still have the same 4 and 5, Hakim Warrick and Craig Forth, that created such match-up problems for an extremely talented Kansas team in a national title game that seems like ten years ago now. Warrick and Forth were to 'Melo what Ortiz is to Ramirez: the talent that surrounds you alters how the opponent plays you. Forth may seem like a 7-foot water heater but he is 7 feet: in the aforementioned national title game he was guarded by the equally tectonic Jeff Graves. Nick Collison drew Warrick, which left a certain 3 for the Orangemen being guarded by Keith Langford, giving up four inches and claiming no advantage in quickness. The Jayhawks, knowing their man needed help, swarmed to Anthony with multiple defenders whenever he touched the ball. So Anthony dished assists and the 'Cuse got big games from Gerry McNamara, Billy Edelin, et. al. With the exception of a certain Denver Nugget, every name in the paragraph is still there. The Orangemen are clearly one of the top six teams in the nation.

So are the Cowboys and, I swear, I felt that way before they beat a major-conference foe by the score of 81-29. The hosannas currently raining down on Illinois--their execution on offense, their patience, their efficiency that outstrips their personnel on paper--have been, or should have been, directed to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for longer than the past ten days. This is a team, after all, that led the nation in field goal percentage last year. And that's just on offense. Having watched his Washington State team score just 29 points against OSU, Cougars coach Dick Bennett (no slouch he when it comes to D) said simply: "I have not run into, in my 40 years, that kind of defensive intensity for as long as they played it."

Should be a great game.

(Big) East Coast Bias

There's a truism about not defecating where you consume meals. The fact that Yoni chose to trust me not to do so in his playground, speaks to his trust or his naivete. I guess we'll see how it goes for the next couple of weeks. Working in his favor is the fact that the last time I saw live match-up of Arizona vs. Pitt, Pitt won 100-92. Granted that was back in January 1990, when I was still in school. And sure a couple years later they crushed Pitt by 20, but I didn't see that game, so it's hard to be that upset at this point.

I'm Chas, and I've been blogging on anything that I feel like here for a couple years and in the last year plus with some friends regarding Pitt. I expect that most of my posts will be regarding the Big East in the present and with an eye to the future. This is obviously a strange time for any fan of a BE school. Things are in upheaval and stability has never been t a word to be associated with this conference. At least that remains the same. Here's how I predict the Big East in 2004-05.

I'm curious and excited to read what other guest bloggers post here. Cross-pollination of ideas is one of the reasons I was juiced to take part. It is way too easy to get stuck in an echo chamber when you focus on one team or conference.

overtime: the company you keep

Thank you to all those who have voted (and will continue to vote once a day through voting's close on December 12th) this site the "Best Sports Blog" in the 2004 Weblog Awards. When I got in the race, I never expected to win. The baseball blogosphere is much too large (and much too good) for a college basketball blogger to triumph in a largely parochial contest.

And that was before the Giambi-Bonds(-Jones) steroids story broke, sending baseball blog readership through the roof.

But I'm very thankful (and very proud) of this site's strong showing to date. I've provided "fierce competition" for the Baseball Crank, a former associate of the Sports Guy (yes, that Sports Guy). And run nearly even with Athletics Nation, whose best of the blogosphere technology comes from none other than the Daily Kos (the 'net's most popular liberal blog). This site is also doing well against Fanblogs, a group blog with many, many writers, Baseball Musings, a blog authored by a former ESPN lead researcher and Aaron's Baseball, a site that predates the Internet (or might as well). Finally, a shout-out to Brendan Loy. When I was a blog newbie, the "Irish Trojan" linked readers my way -- the first time I noticed a surge in interest. The traffic Brendan inspired provided the motivation (in part) for me to continue writing.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

IOUs

Before I go, I should apologize for several commitments I was unable to keep prior to my departure.

First, I wrote Gregg Doyel that I would critique one of his recent pieces. Oh well. I'll be doubly as harsh upon my return.

Second, I promised Boi From Troy I would author a post on his USC Trojans. Maybe after Henry Bibby quits at season's end.

Third, a number of people have emailed requesting that I add links to their site. I'm always glad to oblige. Sorry for the delay.

That's it. In less than two hours, I'm leaving on a jetplane. Enjoy the guest-blogging.

A Warm Welcome

I'm off to a tropical destination and will return the evening of the 17th. My long awaited and much-need vacation will certainly include some of this and may include some of that. But it will not include Internet access. (Think "Cast Away," but with a larger cast).

In my absence, I've recruited a team of guest-bloggers - a "sensational six," if you will - to keep the site active. Several are noted bloggers. Others are notable friends. But all are fine basketball minds and passionate hoops fans. (None, however, aspire to follow in the footsteps of Michael McCann, the original guest blogger, who parlayed his post on this very site into a semi-regular gig at the Sports Law Blog).

Without further ado, I urge you to enjoy the next 12 days, courtesy of Chas, Chris, Dave, Jason, John and Ken. (Ladies? All the ladies? Louder now! Help me out! The next time I'm away, I hope to lessen the gender imbalance. Email me if interested).

I am indebted to each of the guest-bloggers for their support, as I hope you will be for their work. Thanks to all six in advance.

Finally, I should add that I'm quite interested to see which guest-blogger accumulates the most comments on a single post and who among 'em collects the most total comments during the next twelve days.