The two worst phrases a fan can hear about their team are “rebuilding year,” or “gaining a lot of experience.” These are basically two ways of saying: “We are not expecting a lot, but stick with us and we will be better next year.” Injuries, losing a lot of upperclassman, or changing coaches, can be reasons for this situation, and in the case of the University of Wyoming men’s basketball team, they have two out of the three taken care of. With the most noteworthy event for Wyoming being a YouTube classic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvY7zv9St4w), and although that video is awesome, there are other stories to this year’s Cowboy team.

Losing 4 of their top 6 scorers to graduation, the team knew they were in for an uphill battle. However, returning second-leading scorer, sophomore Afam Muojeke, would provide the team leadership that Heath Schroyer’s club desperately needed. Things have a funny way of working out because in the fifth conference game of the year, Muojeke was lost for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Now, with the majority of the conference season still remaining, the incoming freshman class was thrown into the fire and forced to learn on the fly against one of the strongest Mountain West Conferences in recent memory.

Wyoming has the 3rd-youngest Division 1 basketball program, and as can be expected, they showed their youth often. However, there is an upside: the experience they gain by facing more experienced competition such as New Mexico and BYU will pay huge dividends in the future. Wyoming is like the little brother who always challenges his older brothers in pick-up games; he always gets beat in the beginning, but as he gets better and learns from his mistakes, watch out. An example of this for UW has been the emergence of true freshman Desmar Jackson. He has provided Poke fans with a bright spot as the team has tried to find a new identity. Jackson has been the leading scorer for the Cowboys in 6 of the last 10 games, including a career high 31 points against Utah on February 20th. With Muojeke returning next year, and Jackson gaining confidence, UW is already positioning itself to make run in the Mountain West for years to come.

You may be wondering at the title, what does Wyoming have in common with UCLA and North Carolina? These two national powerhouse college basket ball programs are in a similar situation as Wyoming: UCLA, with losing a lot of upper-class talent, and North Carolina has experienced both as injuries and the NBA draft have depleted their roster. Now, UCLA is struggling below .500 for the first time in years, and UNC is just trying to make the NIT. However, like Wyoming, they are also gaining experience, and I expect to see all three teams return to their previous levels of success next year.

The Akron Zips defeated the Miami RedHawks 61-56 on a cold February night in Oxford, Ohio. Many call the Midwest the birth place of college basketball. These two small, division one schools, with a combined enrollment of 40,000 played with a chance to move up in the race for a regular season Mid-American conference title.

Miami came into the game at 8-4 in the league one game back of Akron who were tied with Kent St. for first place in the league. The RedHawks played an intensive, defensive pressuring game while slowing the tempo down on offense. That is exactly how coach Charlie Coles, all-time leader in MAC wins, expects his teams to play. However Akron was able to execute in the final three minutes as they squeaked out a rare road win on the RedHawks floor. Prior to the game, Miami was 6-0 in conference home games.

The Zips are currently tied atop the conference standings with Kent St. at 10-3. With a season-ending date with Kent St. Mar. 5 looming.

Meanwhile Miami is tied with Buffalo at 8-5 for fourth place in the league and the final first round bye for the MAC Tournament. The two teams match-up Mar. 4 at Oxford.

The MAC is the poor man’s Big Ten. Though the MAC may not have the same caliber of athletes, the competitiveness and fight is there night in and night out. Not a lot of games are shown on national TV, but the few ones that are showcase student-athletes working together as a unit. There are few superstars in the MAC, it largely consists blue collar team basketball. Many of these players had the drive and fundamentals to play in the Big Ten, but were not recruited because they lacked size or quickness needed to compete in one of the nations strongest conferences.

It is hard to find a more exciting mid-major conference tournament. The MAC Tournament consists of 12 teams fighting for a spot in the most envied event in college sports, March Madness.

Parity plagues a league that has not seen multiple teams selected for the NCAA Tournament since 1999. This year will be no different. That does however, create a dramatic and level playing field in the conference tournament. Any team can win the title as seniors fight to see another day in their college career. Teams have everything to play for and nothing to lose.

The tournament opens with first round match-ups on campus sites Mar. 7 and then moves to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for the final rounds Mar. 11-13.

College sports go through changes more often than a teenage girl
recycling boyfriends. Why do I think this? Well, take a moment to think
back to a year ago. College sports fans a year ago were experiencing
both anxiety and excitement as they watched really good teams rise to
the top and surprisingly bad teams fall in the rubble. Now, I want you
to notice what those schools are like this season. Most of you will
find some differences, for better or for worse. Any smart college fan
will notice a few drastic changes that have hit certain schools this
season.

The University of Kentucky Wildcats.

We have all heard about the record attendance mark set at last Saturday’s college game day, but
what is all this new hype about UK basketball? Calipari’s introduction as UK’s new head coach has stopped all animosity from last year’s team. Calipari brought what has come to be known as the “Dribble Drive” to Kentucky. His game plan has been nothing but successful for the Wildcats who are 24-1. Calipari also brought in the arrival of new players including talented freshman John Wall and Demarcus Cousins. Wall and Cousins has brought UK fans back on their feet. This change has been a positive one for the bluegrass state as plenty of college basketball fans are jumping on the UK bandwagon.

North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC has been legendary since I was in diapers. The school’s name has been proudly worn across Michael Jordan’s, Vince Carter’s, and several other NBA star’s chests. The Tar heels have been a dominant team during March Madness and have swept up numerous National Championships. I never thought the season would come when Chapel Hill would take a serious blow, but this one might be it. NCAA analysts are stating that UNC is likely to be watching March Madness from their dorm rooms this year. When schools with such tradition and history hit a bump in the road, all they can do is hope their fans stay loyal.

After examining these two teams who have drastically changed over the course of one year, I started to ask myself why these changes occur so quickly. We can blame it on two reasons, coaching changes and players getting drafted.

Coaching Changes.

While Calipari stands as the most prominent coaching shift for the current season, there have been several others, including Coach Amaker’s uprising of Harvard basketball. Not only do basketball programs feel the drastic change when coaching staffs shift, but football teams are also feeling the heat lately. This can be seen with the Cincinnati Bearcats, Tennessee Volunteers, and the USC Trojans. Fans become excited when their team’s coach has recruited top players in the nation, however, if a coach leaves, the recruit usually follows. Memphis basketball realized this reality when they saw John Wall head to UK alongside Calipari. Coaches can be a huge responsibility for drastic season changes.

NBA Steals.

Thanks to an NCAA rule stating players must be out of high school for one year before heading to the NBA, sports fans witness many players here today-gone tomorrow in the college world. Not everyone can turn down millions of dollars for school pride like UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough and Florida’s Tim Tebow have. When the NBA calls red rover to most players, they come running. Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasly, Brandon Jennings, OJ Mayo and many other basketball all-stars have left the college game early to turn professional. While most fans are excited to see them excel at the next level, losing a team MVP can be a serious damper to some college programs. Filling their shoes will take some time and effort so in the meantime; most schools will experience a set back season. The NBA draft can explain why in one season, DeMar DeRozan is leading USC to a March Madness bid and the following year fans rarely hear a word about the Trojans.

Change is an inevitable factor in college basketball. In fact, it is the main reason why fans stay loyal because they know a successful season is likely to follow a losing one. Watching a team dominate the league one year, but not make the tournament the next is why sports fans stay on their toes. Changes in college basketball might frustrate a dedicated fan when the tornado hits them, but they must realize to embrace it.

Valentines Day weekend represents the turning point in an up and down season for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  While you may have been spent the holiday enjoying company with a special someone and an expensive dinner, I was taking in the single life and watching as my Bearcats captured a signature road win versus Connecticut.

All the pre-game hype was about Hall of Fame Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun, who was making his return from a three-week leave of absence due to health problems. The Huskies were under the microscope because of a mid-season slump, having dropped four out of their last five. This traditional powerhouse has not lived up to its billing with three future NBA draft picks currently on the team; Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson. Experts were discussing UConn’s likelihood of missing out on the tournament throughout the week.

But what about the Bearcats? The Huskies are America’s team but is there really that little interest in UC? Cincinnati is in the home stretch of their quest to make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2005. Senior guard Deonta Vaughn has shouldered the burden of UC’s rebuilding process for four years; how can you not root for him to make his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Let me bring you up to speed on Cincinnati’s current tournament resume. The Bearcats have two quality wins against Maryland and Vanderbilt, both locks to make the field. They also beat bubble teams Notre Dame, South Florida and swept Connecticut.

Cincinnati (15-9, 6-6 Big East) is No. 52 in CollegeRPI.com and currently sits in the middle of a crowded, bubble heavy Big East. To this point in the season, UC has played average. It doesn’t have any terrible losses, just a couple bad ones against Seton Hall and St. John’s on the road. The main problem is they don’t have any signature wins versus top-25 opponents and are currently 2-6 on the road.

Saturday’s win is convincing to the selection committee because they swept a fellow bubble team and they did it on the road.  A lot of Cincinnati students had written them off prior to the game. They had dropped three of their last four games, but the Bearcats are not that far out of the field. The loss against Syracuse officially put the Bearcats on the outside looking in. There are still plenty of opportunities to play our way in, which the reason why the Bearcats made the move to the Big East.

The Bearcats have a huge match up on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at South Florida where they hope to knock them off for a second time. They have a chance to create some separation from the bubble teams in the conference. It is no longer a must win game because of the win at UConn. They then face Marquette at home, which is another bubble team, and UC has to protect their home court.  The biggest game left on UC’s schedule is home game on Mar. 2 against Villanova. The Bearcats can officially quiet all critics who say they are not worthy of being in the field of 65 with a win versus No. 4 Villanova.  Look for UC to split its remaining six games and be dancing come March.

Big East living up to expectations.

By Coden Mruk

MORGANTOWN, WV –  We are halfway to March and you know what that means. No not Valentines Day, it means March Madness is almost here. With it, comes the selection process of deciding who is in and who is out in this years tournament. Lets take a look at six teams in the Big East who are riding that bracket bubble as it stands right now. I’ll tell you my picks for who’s in and who’s out.

Louisville- Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals came in to tonight’s game at St. Johns sitting pretty with a 6-4 record in the Big East and baring any major set backs, an almost lock to get in this year’s tournament. St. johns, who is a bottom feeder in the conference made quick work of the Cardinals serving them a  beat-down at MSG. It looks like the travel combined with the latest Rick Pitino buzz was too much of a distraction. Whatever the problem was tonight I do fully expect the Cardinals to come out with alot more intensity when they go northeast to Syracuse. No matter how hard they come out, beating ‘cuse at home is a tall order. This being said, Louisville will probably find themselves at 6-6 and still decent position for a tourney bid. For losing Terrance Williams and Earl Clark in the first round of last year’s NBA draft, and taking on the 4th toughest schedule in the country, Louisville has not disappointed. If Rick Pitino can quiet the New Jersey rumors ASAP and get his team playing defense like we are used to seeing, I think they will be OK. At this point, Louisville is IN.

Marquette  – The Golden Eagles started off hot and have been hot as of late but a mid season lull has really put them in a sticky situation. What Marquette has going for them is that they are 6-5 in the Big East with their key wins coming against Georgetown and at Uconn, who is still a beast on their home floor. Don’t forget that they also beat Xavier at a neutral site. Lazar Hayward has lived up to his role as the premiere scorer and plays bigger than his 6’6 frame suggests. Pulling down 7.8 rebound per game, Hayward is irreplaceable in the paint.  Marquette’s next two games are at home against South Florida and Pittsburgh. If they can protect their home court they will be setting themselves up nicely for a spot in the tourney. I say that Marquette is IN.

South Florida – Dominique Jones has been playing out of his mind and the South Florida Bulls have been riding his almost 22 ppg to a surprising 5-6 record in the Big East. The bottom line is if you can manage to go 9-9 in this conference you get in the tournament and with 4 of their last 7 games at home and a road game at Depaul, I would be surprised if they did not reach that 9-9 mark. Something I really like about the Bulls is they are 3-4 on the road including a win at Georgetown. The South Florida Bulls are IN.

Notre Dame – This is probably the toughest call of the bunch because of the injury that Luke Harangody just suffered in their road loss to Seton Hall who usually protects their home court with regularity. Harangody is averaging over 24 points and 10 rebounds on the year. If he is forced to the sideline for even a week it could be a loss that the Irish aren’t prepared to bounce back from. Their 6-6 conference record could take a hit, severely hurting their chances for a bid but as it stands right now Notre Dame is IN.

Cincinnati – This team showed leaps and bounds from last season beating Vanderbilt and Maryland at a neutral site giving them two legitimate out of conference wins.  Like South Florida, the Bearcats are sitting at 5-6 in conference play and are bearing down for a late season grind for that 9-9 conference mark. Personally, I like the trio of Vaughn, Gates, and freshman phenom Lance Stephenson and fully expect those three to continue to contribute the way they’ve been for the remainder of the season. Cincinnati has been struggling on the road at 1-6. They are going to have to turn that around right now going away to Uconn and then to South Florida. This along with the remainder of their schedule is brutal which does give them the 18th toughest schedule but this probably wont be enough. Realistically I could see the Bearcats finishing 7-11 in the big east and that would obviously put them on the outside looking in. Until that happens I have the Cincinnati Bearcats as IN.

Connecticut- Where to start with this team, the fact that they have already lost 10 games and are 4-7 in the big east, or should we hit on their 0-6 record first? However you want to look at it the Huskies are struggling. I’m disappointed in their athletic big man Stanley Robinson. I know he’s second on the team in ppg and practically tied for first in rebounds but where are those flashes that we saw late last year that had everyone thinking first round pick? Calhoun isn’t right and either is his squad. I know that Uconn has the 8th toughest schedule in the country and they played Duke, Kentucky, and Texas but there is no excuse to the way they have been playing in conference games. You have to win the games that you are supposed to win. If Connecticut wants in this year I think they will have to finish out 5-2 in their next seven but with only 3 more games left at home I just don’t see it happening. Right now and probably for good,Uconn is OUT.

With the addition of Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh, I am putting  ten teams from the Big East in the tournament. If Cincinnati falls off, and I expect they will, that brings the magic number to 9. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the premiere basketball conference in the country.

For years the there has been debate on what the NCAA’s responsibility should be when it comes to the eligibility of players in Men’s College Basketball.  On one side, it is argued that the NCAA has no right to deny an athlete of any age his right to make millions of dollars to showcase his talents at the professional level.

Others argue that the majority of 18-year olds are not physically or psychologically mature enough to handle all the stress and responsibility that are a part of professional sports.

One thing is clear, however.  The NCAA’s current “one and done” policy accomplishes very, very little, regardless of which side of the fence you are on.

A few years ago, the NBA, in accordance with their players union, issued a requirement that an athlete must be at least one year removed from high school before he is allowed to enter the NBA draft.  This new requirement was based on the premise that for every Kobe Bryant, Labron James and Dwight Howard (all of which bypassed college to declare for the NBA Draft), there are many, many more athletes who fail miserably, due to lack of talent and/or maturity.

Bobby Knight is very critical of the NCAA's "One and Done" rule (google images)

While the idea of this rule was admirable, the implementation of it has crashed and burned.  Former coach and ESPN analyst, Bob Knight is one of the NCAA’s biggest critics when it comes to this rule for several reasons.

Knight sights that as it stands right now, a college basketball player only has to pass six credit hours in his fall semester, which is only half of what is required for a full-time student.  Those players who intend to enter the NBA draft that spring do not need to show up for any classes in the spring semester because they know they have no intention of staying in school.

The NCAA, which is supposed to establish guidelines for student-athletes, seems to be failing to enforcing the “student” part.  As with anything, there are obviously loop holes with the current rule.  But this is a loop hole that the NCAA can easily fill.

One such suggestion is that the NBA require these athletes to be two years removed from high school before they can enter the NBA Draft.  While this suggestion would force college basketball players to actually attend class, it would also be denying cash, life-changing cash, to elite players–something the NBA Players Union will likely argue, and for good reason.

Another, more reasonable option would be to simply require these athletes to take a a minimum of 12 credit hours in the fall semester, which is the minimum required of most students to maintain various scholarships and financial aid.  The same requirement should be set for the spring semester, and class attendance could be required.

Coaches and athletic directors should be enforcing this already, but with no established rules from the NCAA, those coaches on the straight and narrow are having to compete with the coaches who are taking advantage of the system.

Until the NCAA modifies this rule or eliminates it all together, college coaches and players will continue to make a mockery of the rule and the NCAA.

Voice your opinion!  Do you think the “One and Done” rule is fair?  What alternatives should the NCAA and NBA consider?