By Ryan Dunleavy
It is mid-January. Still about seven weeks away from when the casual basketball fan starts paying attention. But those with the "Wake-me-up-in-March" attitude already have missed some of the best stories in college basketball. Here is the first weekly look at the national campus hoops scene with, of course, an eye toward March.
HOT
- Texas A & M
The Aggies (16-2, 4-0) sit alone atop the Big 12 for the first time in conference history. Texas A &M is coming off an impressive rout of Kansas on Saturday, and leads the Jayhawks, Texas Tech and Texas by one game in the standings. Sure, 12 more conference games remain, but when you were winless in-conference just three years ago - as this program was - first place in mid-January is still just first place.
- Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
The freshman guard, who is averaging 11.8 points per game this season, combined for 53 points and 10 assists in the Wildcats' victories against Top 25 foes Notre Dame and Texas. With plenty of other freshmen getting national ink, Reynolds is a rare McDonald's All-American flying under the radar. Or, at least he was until this breakout week landed him Big East Rookie of the Week honors.
- Trey Johnson, Jackson St. and Reggie Williams, VMI
What? You were expecting Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick? Sorry to disappoint. No big-name players or schools here, but still a plethora of points. Johnson (29.9 ppg) and Williams (28.1 ppg) are numbers one and two, respectively, in the race for the national scoring title. Unfortunately, catching either Johnson's Jackson St. Tigers or Williams' Virginia Military Institute Keydets in action will be as difficult as finding a Duke-North Carolina game without Dick Vitale behind the mic. Make sure to program your DVR for the SWAC and Big South Conference tournaments.
COLD
- Jeff Ruland, Iona
Rumors had the Iona coach headed for bigger things after last season's NCAA Tournament appearance. Now he should be happy the rumor mill has him safe at 0-18 Iona - for now. The only winless team in Division I men's basketball is dangerously close to becoming just the third team ever to finish a season with the same number of victories it had at Midnight Madness. The good news for Ruland is his players have not quit on him. Of the Gaels' last three losses, two came in overtime and one was a one-point defeat.
- University of Washington
What's the opposite of East Coast bias? How about West Coast bandwagon? Experts everywhere have anointed the Pac-10 as the nation's best conference, with as many as six teams slotted for NCAA tournament bids. But what about Washington, which not too long ago was one of the league's few highly regarded programs? On Saturday, the Huskies fell to 1-6 in conference play after a humbling 28-point loss to rival Washington State. It only seems ironic that the same year east-coast bias gets erased, so does this run of three straight NCAA Tournament berths and two consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.
- James Mays, Clemson
The junior forward's remarkable streak of 28 consecutive wins - 11 to start last season and 17 to start this season - was snapped Jan. 13 when Clemson lost to Maryland. Mays, who was declared academically ineligible for the second half of 2005-06, then had to cope with the foreign idea of a losing streak after the Tigers got pummeled by North Carolina on Wednesday. Poor guy should try playing at Iona.
With an eye toward March...
The Colonial Athletic Association gave college basketball lovers their best Cinderella story in a quarter-century last season, and it appears to be a good place for upset-seekers to look again.
Virginia Commonwealth, Hofstra, Drexel, Old Dominion and, yes, George Mason all own Top 100 RPIs and sport a combined 67-26 record. George Mason's captivating run to the Final Four probably earned the league another at-large bid, and it is a good thing with several deserving invitees.
Drexel's out-of-conference resume - two Atlantic 10 and two Big East victories in a three-week December span - speaks for itself, but watch out for Hofstra.
The Pride felt they deserved the at-large bid awarded to George Mason last season and possess the number one ingredient needed for winning in the tournament: high-scoring veteran guards in Loren Stokes and Antoine Agudio. Conference leader Virginia Commonwealth is receiving Top 25 votes and cannot be ignored, but it is Hofstra that is best suited for the glass slipper.
