in his pjs

-- Bud Withers of the Seattle Times saves face by questioning Oregon's eye-popping No. 11 ranking in the RPI. Just outside the Top 10, the 11-3 Ducks check in ahead of North Carolina, Syracuse and Kentucky, among others. Their best win? Vanderbilt (43). I too cannot explain Oregon's stratospheric ranking.

-- Outfoxed: Last week, Arizona's Lute Olson abruptly pulled Kirk Walters out of his redshirt year into second-semester eligibility. Big Isiah Fox, it seems, is not expected to be much of a contributor down the stretch. Another bad sign for the Wildcats. Ugh.

-- The NCAA today declared sophomore forward P.J. Tucker, Texas' leading scorer and rebounder, academically ineligible. Freshman center LeMarcus Aldridge is also out, having suffered a serious hip injury. Individually, either loss would be significant for the Longhorns. Together, they all but doom Texas' hopes for a Top four Tournament seed. Rick Barnes has just cause to be frustrated. For the first time in years, it seemed to this blogger that Texas had not only talent but also teamwork, not only hype but legitimate hope. They were among the teams I was to consider sending to the Elite Eight in my Tournament bracket.

-- If Northern Iowa is to pull off the first-round NCAA Tournament upset many of this blogs readers anticipate, team managers and film gurus P.J. Hogan, Tyler Struck and Justin Ruddy will be critical. Read about life in the fast lane here.