Jan. 11
CONFERENCE PLAY A NEW BALL GAME
How about a salute to the Minutemen of Massachusetts! Bruiser Flint has been under the gun this season, yet his team has won its first two A-10 games, including an upset at Xavier earlier in the week.
Monty Mack has been playing well lately and he keyed the upset over the Musketeers. The Minutemen were 2-9 in nonleague play, but they seem to be on track early on in conference action.
Virginia Commonwealth is off to an impressive 3-0 start in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams were 7-6 in preconference play.
Indiana State, which scored a shock city over Mike Davis' Indiana Hoosiers earlier in the season, got out of the gate well in Missouri Valley play. The Sycamores were the only unbeaten team in the league at 3-0.
Samford, which went 3-6 in nonconference play, opened the TAAC by winning four of its first five league tilts.
The most interesting stat comes from the MEAC. Norfolk State went 0-8 in nonleague action but won its first four conference contests.
SPEAKING OF SALUTES
You probably won't see him on SportsCenter, so let's salute the play of Michael Hicks of Texas-Corpus Christi.
Earlier this week, he scored 47 points -- that's right, 47 big ones! He hit 18 of 31 shots and grabbed 14 rebounds in a win over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
TALKING DEPTH
The three deepest teams in America (not in any order) are Michigan State, Wake Forest and Tennessee.
The Spartans bring in diaper dandy Zach Randolph off the bench. The Demon Deacons have top scorer Craig Dawson, top shot blocker Antwan Scott and veteran center Rafael Vidaurreta off the pine. The Vols have one of the nation's premier sixth men in Ron Slay.
What does it mean to have a deep team? A lot when you consider what happens down the stretch of a long season. You have injuries, fatigue and challenges in big games leading up to the Big Dance.
Having depth also helps in case of foul trouble. These three teams have an edge, one which could be a factor come tourney time.
DOING IT OFF THE COURT
Notre Dame is really excited about the team's GPA. Academic advisor Pat Holmes indicated that this current Fighting Irish edition posted a GPA above 3.0 for the first semester. That is something to be proud of.
MISSING MR. WRIGHT
The Florida Gators are missing big man Brent Wright already. He's out with a stress fracture that will sideline him from three to six weeks.
With Wright out, and Udonis Haslem in foul trouble, the Gators didn't have the inside presence against South Carolina. The Gamecocks went on to upset Billy Donovan's squad.
Wright is a productive player, averaging 15.7 ppg. and seven rpg. He's also an aggressive defender whose absence is a major blow to the Gators.
UNSUNG LOBO
Keep an eye on New Mexico's Eric Chatfield. The 6-foot-3 junior guard has been key as the Lobos have won 11 of 13 games this season.
Chatfield had 27 big points in a win over San Diego State. He had 30 points against Alcorn State earlier this season.
He has led the Lobos in scoring nine times this season. Chatfield comes from New York City, showing Fran Fraschilla still has connections from the Big Apple. Remember, Fraschilla used to coach at St. John's.
A SALUTE
Here's a salute to Georgia State junior center Thomas Terrell. He had an incredible performance with 42 points in a win over Jacksonville Monday night.
