the out the door edition

I'm off like a prom dress and will spend the next couple days partying, attending an Inaugural Ball, and skiing. I may be back sporadically -- likely tomorrow afternoon -- but posting, on the whole, should be light through Monday night.

-- The never-ending coaching saga continues at USC. Athletic Director Mike Garrett yesterday told the Los Angeles Times that the school continues to negotiate with Tim Floyd. It appears the Trojans can't find a coach who'll make up his mind in a reasonable amount of time. Rick Majerus made two decisions too quickly; first to sign, then to renege. Floyd can't make a decision soon enough.

-- Less than a week after it was reported he would be back this weekend, Lou Henson remains hospitalized with pneumonia. In other words, it is (past) time to retire.

-- Prior to the game against Kansas, Kentucky will honor longtime coach Clarence Gaines on Sunday. No word on whether autographed copies of "They Call Me Big House" will be made available to interested fans.

-- Every Friday, Seth Davis accepts the challenge of a single reader in picking 10 weekend games. On Wednesday, I sent Seth my selections, but in his column he featured those of Whit Ladue instead. (Which raises an important question: why would anybody name his or her son Whit)?

My predictions for this weekend are below. Following Matt Walsh's injury, I revised my analysis of the Arkansas-Florida game from the one I had earlier submitted.

The featured game

Kentucky 73, Kansas 61

Tubby's club plays defense too well to lose to the Wayne Simien-less Jayhawks at home. With or without a big game from Chuck Hayes, Patrick Sparks, Kelenna Azubuike and Kentucky's fabulous freshmen trio will provide enough offensive firepower to subdue Keith Langord & Co.

The other matches

Northern Iowa 76, Evansville 62
North Carolina 84, Maryland 75
Arkansas 77, Florida 70
Notre Dame 71, Villanova 55
Iowa State 67, Missouri 66
Boston College 74 Providence 60
Washington 78, UCLA 65
Arizona State 70, Cal 64
North Carolina State 68, Miami 64