Column: Bracketbusters: Just one big bust?

There is a series of teams playing made-for-tv blockbuster matchups this weekend expected to boost possible NCAA at-large resumes for mid major programs, presented of course by ESPN. ESPN has created BracketBuster Weekend, a chance for smaller schools to possibly get some national recognition with a rare television game and a chance to play a non conference opponent with a similar RPI in hopes of impressing the committee for later March. In 2006, the fourth year of the BracketBusters George Mason used a huge win at Wichita State to squeeze into the field of 65 and spring board their way to a Final Four appearance, without question the best instance of the BracketBusters. In 2008, Siena who had no chance for an at-large berth got to travel to Boise State for an untelevised, unexciting, half-filled game. Boise got to return to Siena this season in the legal BracketBuster return game. The whole idea of this grandiose weekend to celebrate successful mid-majors is fantastic in theory, and I love seeing mismatched games of teams I normally wouldn't see play. But I do not need to see VCU travel across the nation to play at Nevada on a Friday night, two nights after snatching first place in the CAA. Wisconsin Green Bay has no chance of gathering an at-large bid, being in second place in the Horizon league behind Butler. Yet UWGB gets the privilige of taking a trip to Long Beach State on a Saturday and then coming back into their league schedule this Tuesday night. Not a single team with the exception of maybe Butler will get an at-large from this slew of BracketBuster teams. Yet, nearly all of them have taken a weekend out of their season to play a meaningless money-grubbing game that will not get any ratings and just waste the time of both teams. Now the BracketBuster committee is not all bad; in the non-television games they pit teams against each other geographically to make it much easier on the teams that don't have a future. But really, what are the players from Cal Poly thinking? They get to host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Saturday afternoon. I'm sure the students will be a rowdy bunch for that one, both teams with middling records in the lower part of their leagues.

BracketBusters can help some mid-major teams in some seasons, but overall it is really just a made for tv waste of time that does not contribute anything to college basketball. One game will get decent ratings on Saturday, Davidson hosting Butler, and neither team will be in next week's top 25. Yet almost a hundred other mid major programs will travel all throughout the nation playing games that in a month nobody will remember because nobody cares. All thanks to ESPN.

The Daily Gus: February 20th

UCLA was happy to get home on Thursday night after their Arizona swing last weekend went terribly wrong. The Bruins dropped back to back games to Arizona State and Arizona, tumbling in the polls from six to 20. They returned to Pauley Pavilion welcoming a tough Washington team who had won three in a row going into the showdown with UCLA. UCLA placed five guys in double figures and won the game in a way they are not accustomed to, scoring 85 points, 51 in the second half. Josh Shipp had 20 and Darren Collison had 17 for UCLA who avenged their loss to UW on Jan. 24. UCLA is not nearly as bad as they played on their Arizona swing, but I think them being ranked in the top ten is slightly overrating the Bruins. They struggled on big stages in the non conference and have really showed no signs of brilliance on the road in the Pac-10. The UCLA issue will be finding guys to score to take pressure off Collison in the clutch. Collison may very well be the best point guard in the land, but he cannot make the Bruins better by scoring 25 and trying to get 10 assists, it just won't work. Shipp and Aboya both better start to bring their games every night, and if they do, UCLA is still the best team in the Pac-10. If not, they can get crushed just as they did in Tucson last Saturday.

Shoot-Around- Gonzaga got very lucky that Patty Mills from St. Mary's got injured...the Zags clinched their ninth consecutive WCC regular season title, a feat that is truly remarkable. The longest active streak in the NCAA, Mark Few has continually done an outstanding job, overcoming different programs every year that seem to be on the cusp of getting the Zags at the right time. Steven Gray had a career-high 23 points and Gonzaga continues its balance within the conference. The task will be if that holds up in March...Gonzaga beat Loyola Marymount last night to clinch; Loyola is now (gasp!) 2-25! Loyola has been a 20-plus point underdog at Gonzaga for the last six seasons!!!

- Xavier goes on the road to 9-15 Charlotte, where the 49ers had not had a home win over a ranked team in over four seasons to Cincinnati. Bobby Lutz's Charlotte team has had a miserable time since joining the A-10, and Lutz has been on the hotseat as of late. Charlotte gets a huge win to beautify their schedule a bit and increase fan interest, beating the Muskies 65-60. Xavier is still ranked in the top 20, and is currently at 21-5. The issue is Xavier is by no means the same team that was down in Puerto Rico in November, an interesting turn to see where their seed will be.

The Daily Gus: February 17th

Another fantastic top-ten matchup occurred on Big Monday last night, putting up #1 UCONN at home against #4 Pittsburgh. Going into the game, I figured UCONN would be a manageable favorites at home, but would run away with the game. The Huskies are more athletic at every spot than Pittsburgh, or at least everyone thought so. That was before DeJuan Blair stepped up for Pitt after Sam Young got in foul trouble. Blair might have put in the performance of the season so far at its biggest stage, he went for 22 and 23. The most amazing thing about the Pitt sophomore forward was that he surrendered six inches to Hashim Thabeet of Uconn, and literally took it to him. He looked him in the eye and took Thabeet and the rest of the Huskies' manhood. Now take a gander at Pittsburgh, who I considered just a normal run of the mill Pitt team who would falter early in the NCAAs. But now, they have a scorer in Sam Young for the first time in years, they have a point guard who just needs to distribute in Levance Fields. Reflect back at past Pitt squads who were in the top ten. They had an interior forces all the time, but on the perimeter their distributor was also their scorer, Carl Krauser and Brandin Knight and Ronald Ramon to name a few. I am not a fan of the brutal Big Ten style that Pitt normally plays, but do not stereotype this Panther team. After watching Monday, I am a believer, I think they will win the Big East and end up being a top seed in the NCAAs. As for UCONN I think losing Jerome Dyson will be a bigger deal than most believe. Now UCONN has no real perimeter threat who they have had in their national title runs in the past. They got Adrien and Thabeet inside, yes, probably the best interior in the country. But match that with a team with some depth and size in the frontcourt and that may be negated. Not to mention, a 2-3 zone literally shuts down Connecticut now without a knock down shooter. The positive thing Conn can take from this showdown was Thabeet only played 20 some minutes, he was in foul trouble all game and could not perform at his best with a tweaked shoulder. But, I think things got flipped in the Big East Monday night. And maybe the national title picture.

Shoot-Around
- VMI is not going to win the Big South. Yes they still lead the league and have pretty much gone wire to wire, but they went down to Presbyterian last night and struggled from the field, shooting 19% in the first half, notching 15 first half points. The biggest problem with VMI is their style, if they are not shooting well or scoring they ain't gonna win. There is no "D" in VMI and it has proven evident in their losses. They managed to scratch and claw their way back to a six-point game before going cold again. VMI could get homecourt throughout the tournament which would be vital to the campaign, but at some point they are going to have to rely on a defensive stop to win a crucial game and they will not get it. Liberty and Radford will.

- For the first time in years there is trouble in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns dropped their fourth in sixth contests to state rival Texas A&M, who had lost three in a row in their own right. Texas got down by as many as 19, and the loss of D.J. Augustin is really prevalent, A.J. Abrams cannot do it by himself and Connor Atchley is far from the remedy. Texas now lies sixth in the Big 12 at 6-5 and could be in serious danger of falling on the bubbling bubble. Three of their last five are against teams above them, including a finale at Kansas.

- Action pretty light on Monday night.

The Daily Gus: February 10th

Kansas led rival Missouri by 14 at halftime and by 11 with under seven minutes to play before allowing Missouri to creep back into the game and eventually win it 62-60. KU had 27 turnovers, but managed to lead the entire way due in large part to their tremendous advantage on the glass. Tyshawn Taylor was KU's leading scorer with just 11 points, but the Jayhawk defense was the reason they were in the game. Kansas held Mizzou to 36% shooting, a season low and a dismal 24% in the first half. Although KU surrendered the ball 27 times unnecessarily, this is a young team that went out on the road to an upstart rival squad and faired very solid. Kansas may be slightly overrated to have a #16 ranking, but as of last night I feel they deserve in the top 20. Winning at Missouri is a tall task, but for 35 minutes KU had this game in its arms. It was Missouri's 16th consecutive home win (21-4), a mark head coach Mike Anderson has got to take pride in and feel comfortable welcoming Big 12 teams to Columbia. The two teams were a combined 4 of 29 from three point range; it was 40 minutes of defensive strife which has become the Big 12 mainstay. Looking forward, Missouri might be able to play a role in the Big 12 championship race. Although Oklahoma controls its own destiny as the only unbeaten team in the league, the Sooners must travel to Columbia and Missouri's schedule is favorable the rest of the way, having only a tough road test in Lawrence which will certainly be a revenge game. This win could very well boost Missouri into some consideration for a top 25 mainstay the rest of the season. A far cry from the dismantling they took from Illinois back in December.

Shoot-Around
- Fresno State has been tremendously disappointing in the WAC this season, compiling a 1-7 league record going into Monday night's home game against Boise. Boise came in at 6-3 and was trying to put some distance between themselves and third place Nevada, but faltered on the road, giving up a 16-point halftime lead to Fresno. Boise clawed their way back, cutting it to four with 30 seconds remaining, but could not stop Paul George all night. George had 29 and 10 for Fresno on 9 of 11 shooting in 37 minutes. Boise allowed Fresno to shoot over 50%, the main reason why Boise is now caught in a WAC mish-mash with Nevada and New Mexico State. They are all eons behind Utah State; bubble teams everywhere will pray for Utah State to win the WAC tournament.

- Radford is having its first significant season since the late 1990s within the Big South this season, being the team to beat alongside VMI. Monday they entertained Coastal Carolina where they almost squandered the game to the eighth place Chanticleers. In a game that featured 34 turnovers (17 each) between the two teams, it went to overtime where Radford captured a 71-67 win, their 11th in 12 games. It was only the second single-digit win for Radford all season long, proving their Big South dominance. Radford now sets out on a three game road trip concluding with a contest in Lexington against 20-4 VMI, a trip they must go 3-0 on to maintain hope for a Big South regular season crown.

- A team not getting nearly enough national love is MAAC leader Siena. Siena won again last night, beating Loyola (MD) 73-60 at home, making them 12-0 at home this year. It moved the Saints to 12-1 in the league and 19-6 overall, their only league loss coming last Saturday at Rider by a last second basket. Siena's losses include Kansas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Oklahoma State, all of which credible losses for a mid-major team to have. They are a balanced attack with three players averaging in double figures and the main core returning from last season's second round NCAA team. If Siena gets beat in the MAAC tournament, they will be an interesting case with a tremendously high RPI. They will be favored in every game the rest of the way, their toughest game at Niagra on Feb. 27. An RPI of mid 30s, a 25-7 record with a fantastic SOS when Selection Sunday comes a-hollerin? Watch out.

The Daily Gus: February 5th

The top two teams in the ACC, Duke and Wake Forest, both traveled to difficult venues for a regular run of the mill Wednesday night showdown. The old quote goes "You can't take a night off in the ACC, you must lace them up every night," blah blah. Although it may be true. Duke and Wake got absolutely punished. Duke goes to Clemson and shoots poorly? 3 of 13 from three and drops their first one to the Tigers in 22 games 74-47. A 27 POINT LOSS?! A tough road game for Duke, but Clemson just is not the same team at Littlejohn. They used two separate runs to extend their lead and were helped out by Trevor Booker's 8 of 10 shooting for 21 points. Now, who knows if Clemson is any different this year than any other season when they jump out to a gaudy number of wins without playing anyone. One thing is for certain, don't play 'em at Littlejohn. Wake Forest on the other hand is so confusing. They look great at home to Duke and UNC; they look great on the road to Clemson. But then they play at Georgia Tech and then Wednesday night at Miami and get sent home crying both times. Jack McClinton hit six threes for Miami and the 'Canes punished them 79-52. A 27 POINT LOSS?! Yes, both Duke and Wake go on the road, play no defense and shoot poorly. The recipe for getting lambasted in conference games. Maybe the ACC is the toughest conference in America; I still am not fully convinced, but when your two best teams go out and get crushed like the other night that speaks volumes for the depth of the league.

Shoot-Around
- Win of the night which may go completely unnoticed? Bobby Maze had two points in the second half; a midrange jumper with 5.4 seconds left to give Tennessee a two-point lead. That was it. Tennessee's 74-72 victory in Fayetteville against Arkansas. Tennessee has now won two in a row against similar teams, Florida and Arkansas. Although the Razorbacks dropped to 1-6 in the SEC, the fashion which the Vols got this win could really springboard them back into some prevalence. Wayne Chism had 22 and 9 and UT placed four guys in double figures. The issue at hand is whether or not Tennessee will be able to find enough scoring from players other than Chism and Tyler Smith. The athleticism will always be there for the Vols and apparently they don't mind playing on the road now. 3-0 on the road in SEC play and they are just a half-game behind Florida in the East (with a current advantage in tiebreaker).

- Luke Harangody goes for 28 and 14 for his 11th straight double-double as the Irish went on the road to play a fellow 4-5 Big East team. No doubt they finally got it under control? Bzzz. Cincinnati beats Notre Dame to drop them to 4-6 in the league and left Mike Brey really scratching his head. Deonta Vaughn had a season high 34 and Larry Davis had a career-high 21 to give the Irish their sixth straight loss. Notre Dame ain't playing any defense, they have given up 90 points three times during the streak. If Dame doesn't figure things out quick, there is no possible way they can even think about an at-large berth. They are not going to be able to convinve the committee that a 12-loss overall, 10-loss Big East team deserves a place. There is no substitute for winning games.

- Everybody got in on the action in Lansing Wednesday night. Michigan State had lost two straight home games, a shocking development which Tom Izzo certainly had to be questioning the ability and desire fo his squad. All that uncertainty was quelled when they jumped out to a 42-16 lead over a really good Minnesota team and held them to 17.2 percent shooting in the first half. The Spartans shot over 50% for the game and held Minnesota to 28.8, as the Gophers high scorer had 11 points. Durell Summers had 21 for Michigan State on 8 of 10 shooting and they also outrebounded Minny 38-21. An all around impressive performance for Michigan State as they remain atop the Big Ten.

- So much for Anthony Grant to Georgia. VCU got thwarted at UNC-Wilminton Wednesday night 81-72 by a team that is 11th in the Colonial and has shown no signs of life all season. Eric Maynor went 0 for 11 from distance and the Rams allowed UNCW, who starts five guards, to remain even with them, 32-32, on the glass. This VCU team is mental and has underachieved all season long. Unfortunate that Eric Maynor may go out prematurely...Speaking of head-scratching CAA games, Northeastern goes to William and Mary for their third Virginia road trip in two weeks and suffers a tough loss, 68-63 to W&M. William and Mary slowed down the game to an absolute crawl and held Matt Janning to ten points for the game.

The Daily Gus: February 4th

Florida welcomes South Carolina into "The Swamp" for a spot in first place in the SEC East on Tuesday night after getting walloped at Tennessee over the weekend. South Carolina came out on a mission and kept the Gators in a game; Devan Downey scored 33 for the Gamecocks. South Carolina had beaten Florida at home on January 21st on a quick lay-up by Downey as time expired to shock the Gators. Since then, South Carolina had been on a roll, tallying up a total 16-4 record going into the showdown. Florida got to the free throw line 40 times compared to South Carolina's 22 and forced 17 turnovers as Florida recaptured the top spot in the SEC East 97-93 although they tried their best to give it back down the stretch. Walter Hodge missed a series of free throws and Downey nailed three last minute treys to pull within two before the well ran dry for South Carolina. Still, reason for optimism for the Gamecocks; for a team with alot of uncertainty they are playing up to potential and should certainly be considered among the top four SEC squads come March.

Shoot-Around
- 12th ranked Purdue went on the road to Columbus to face an Ohio State team desperate for a signature win at home where they could stay atop the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were 5-4 coming in and had shown real signs of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; not knowing what kind of team will show up ever since a win at Notre Dame which does not look as appealing anymore. Ohio State got their win (even though Purdue was without leading scorer Robbie Hummel) 80-72 in overtime. Ohio State was the first team to shoot over 45 percent against the Boilermakers all season, and Purdue could not snag a crucial road win which would have tied them with Michigan State. Although Hummel is cleared to play with a hairline fracture in his back, having him perform is crucial to the Purdue success.

- UNLV hosted San Diego State for a spot in second place in the Mountain West and trailed the entire game before tying it at 56 with under two minutes left. The Rebels forced overtime, but San Diego State guard Kyle Spain had eight of his 17 in overtime and hit a crucial three with a minute left to put SDSU up four. MTM fave Wink Adams had a shot to win it at the buzzer, but to no avail and San Diego St got a huge road MWC win.