jack kennedy

-- Will Duke's loss to Wake Forest open the floodgates, exposing the Blue Devils' short bench? Or will Daniel Ewing, Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick lead Coach K's club past at least two of Georgia Tech (2/5), North Carolina (2/9) and Maryland (2/12)?

-- Andy Glockner of the WWLIS has an early look at teams on and off the bubble. Today's must-read, though I'd argue Glockner should have opened with "other at-large conferences" rather than with the usual suspects. Have we ever had four mid-major locks (Southern Illinois, Wichita State, Pacific and, nominally, Gonzaga) this early in the season?

-- Seen Keeler of the Des Moines Register pens a quality piece on Grinnell College's upcoming ESPN2 appearance. Nick owes Jack a million bucks. Really.

-- Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star has nine predictions for the second half of Pac-10 play. Among them: 1) Arizona's home loss to Washington State will spur the Wildcats to a tremendous winning streak. 2) The UofA will not enlarge the size of the McKale Center student section. (Despite the endorsement of such an idea by the Star's editorial board). 4) Hassan Adams will not declare for the NBA Draft at season's end. 7) With Leon Powe back, California will be a Top 25 team next season. Hansen's early conference rankings for 2005-2006? In order: Washington, Cal, UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon. Shake it up, baby.