Should contrarian hoopheads head Baron Rothschild’s famous advice, “when there is blood in the streets, buy real estate,” and upgrade rather than downgrade the Bulldogs after their loss last night to Cleveland State?

The arguments for buying:

First, Butler still has a solid resume, with wins over Xavier, UAB, Northwestern, and Davidson. Second, the Bulldogs are also very consistent. According to Ken Pomeroy, Butler is the nation's sixth most consistent club. Third, Cleveland State isn't half bad. The Vikings won at Syracuse and entered the Horizon League with more than twice as many wins (21) as losses (10). Fourth and finally, Butler yesterday played almost as badly as it is capable of playing -- and still only lost by three points. (Using Pomeroy's stats, I computed the difference in the Bulldogs' average and actual offensive and defensive efficiencies in each of their games this season. Only once, in a loss at Wisconsin-Green Bay, was Butler's combined deviation from their average efficiencies notably worse than last night's deviation).

The arguments for selling:

First, Butler's resume isn't exceptional. The Bulldogs' best wins came either in late November and early December or against teams that are at best on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Butler also lost at hapless Wisconsin-Milwaukee and at home (!) to Loyola of Chicago. Second, the Bulldogs aren't particularly efficient. According to Ken Pomeroy (and before last night's loss), Butler is only the nation's 58th most efficient offensive club and 46th most efficient defensive club, making their Top 25 rating hard to justify. Third, Cleveland State lost to Youngstown State, Wichita State, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee and isn't great. But last night's close contest was no fluke. Butler twice beat the Vikings by only two points before last night's loss. Fourth, finally -- and most importantly -- Butler has hit a wall on defense (contrary to what coach Brad Stevens told the Indianapolis Star's David Woods in late February). The young Bulldogs have played significantly less efficient defense in their final 11 Horizon League games than they did in their first 10. Butler allowed conference opponents to score 0.12 more points per possession late in the season than it did early in the season.

Conclusion:

Based on Butler's late-season defensive collapse, hoopheads should read the writing on the wall and downgrade the Bulldogs.

I couldn't help but notice that you are this year more accurate from behind the three point arc than you are from in front of it. And that this is not a coincidence. Over the course of your collegiate career, you have been equally as accurate from long range as from short range. (Amazing).

Given that a three pointer is worth, well, more than a two pointer, I suggest that you against Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament jack up more threes and less twos.

Sincerely Yours,

George Frankly

At the time, I warned you not to believe the hype.

Today, after four consecutive losses, the Wildcats are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble -- and perhaps on the wrong side.

Arizona should defeat Stanford in its final regular season game, which may (or may not) be enough to send the 'Cats dancing. If the Wildcats lose to their first round Pac-10 Tournament opponent, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Nic Wise will have to sweat Selection Sunday.

G - Stanley Pringle, Penn State. 20 points (on eight for 11 shooting, including a perfect four of four from behind the arc) and five rebounds in the Nittany Lions' come-from-behind victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini. (Talor Battle's game-winning shot would never have been possible had Pringle not had an outstanding night -- and nailed his only two field goal attempts in the game's final five minutes. Battle missed his two crunch time shots prior to his game winner).

G - Scottie Reynolds, Villanova. 23 points (on nine of 13 shooting) and four assists in the Wildcats' win over the Providence Friars.

F - Justin Rutty, Quinnipiac. 18 points (on seven for nine shooting) and 16 rebounds (seven offensive) in the Bobcats' road win at the Long Island Blackbirds.

C - Jordan Hill, Arizona 24 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists in the Wildcats' loss to the California Golden Bears.

Georgetown lost to Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Cincinnati (twice). Had the Hoyas won at least three of these four contests, they would today be March Madness bound.

G - Chris Wright, Georgetown. With 9:38 remaining and the Hoyas up 46-32, their second leading scorer missed a layup. Moments later, St. John's comeback began. Wright would go on to miss another layup, this time with 5:20 left and the Hoyas up 46-38, and commit the shooting foul that allowed the Red Storm's D.J. Kennedy to make the go ahead free throws in overtime.

G - Dion Dixon, Cincinnati. With Mike Williams nursing a sprained MCL, the Bearcats needed to replace his production against South Florida. Dixon tried to do so -- and failed. He made his first field goal 5:25 into the contest, then missed his next eight, seven three pointers included.

G - Denis Clemente, Kansas State. The Wildcats' leading scorer missed all of his field goal attempts in the final 10 minutes. In the loss to Oklahoma State, he finished five for 15 from the field, committed four turnovers, and didn't grab a single rebound.

G - Larry Davis, Cincinnati. The Bearcats' normally productive reserve did more harm than good at South Florida. In 13 minutes, he missed three field goals, committed a turnover, and didn't score a single point.

F - Landon Milbourne, Maryland. The Terrapins' second leading scorer was MIA in Maryland's loss to Wake Forest. The junior missed his first five shots, didn't connect from the field until 2:34 remained in the second half, and finished with only two points. Had Milbourne played better, Maryland likely would have notched the quality win the Terrapins' need to secure an at-large bid.

G - David Holston, Chicago State. 25 points, 14 assists, six steals, and only two turnovers in the Cougars' defeat of the Houston Baptist Huskies.

F - Casey Cantey, Alabama A&M. 22 points (on eight for 11 shooting)in the Bulldogs' loss to the Prairie View A&M Panthers.

F - Ryan Ayers, Notre Dame. 25 points (on eight for 12 shooting, including seven of 10 from behind the arc), four rebounds, and four assists in the Fighting Irish's loss to the Villanova Wildcats.

F - Demetrius Nelson, The Citadel. 22 points (on five for seven shooting, including a perfect 12 of 12 from the charity stripe) and 11 rebounds in the Bulldogs' road win at the Georgia Southern Eagles.

1. The New York Times' Pete Thamel on Jim, Cindy, and Jimmy Baron. "When Jimmy graduated from Hendricken, his only scholarship offer came from Division II Assumption College. He... has become one of the best shooters in Atlantic 10 history. He is averaging a team-high 16.7 points a game and, entering Sunday, his 45.6 percentage from 3-point range ranked him No. 7 in Division I." LINK. (Six consecutive wins have Rhode Island on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But an RPI of 60, only five quality wins over RPI Top 100 opponents, and a bad loss to Richmond leave the Rams little margin for error in the Atlantic 10 Tournament).

2. The Topeka Capital-Journal's Austin Meek on Darren Kent's heroics. "One minute, Kent was writhing on the court and the crowd was holding its breath, hoping Kent's college career hadn't ended. The next minute, Kent was knocking down a baseline jumper that helped Kansas State seal a win against Nebraska." LINK.

3. The Fayetteville Observer's Dan Wiederer on North Carolina's junior varsity squad. "UNC may just be the last major college basketball program still dabbling in the JV trade." LINK. (And/but: The Tar Heels' suited up against Hargrave Military Academy, which might raise the NCAA's eyebrows, "Rudy [Gay] Rule" and all).

4. The Lawrence Journal-World's Tom Keegan on Kansas' rapid improvement. "Markieff and Marcus Morris, lazy and lazier when the curtain opened on their college careers, now bust it up and down the court, consistently hit the boards hard and defend with passion. Tyshawn Taylor, who used to send out a press release to the opposing defenses to let them know when to set up under the hoop to take the charge, now more often picks his spots wisely and knows how to contort his body in a way to avoid knocking over a defender when finishing." LINK.

5. The Newark Star-Ledger's Tom Luicci's many hoop thoughts. For example: "Here's the problem with the whole LSU success story: Almost all of it has happened in the confines of the SEC. But outside the league, LSU has looked ordinary at best." LINK.

Quotes of the day

1. "It's a long season. You get nicked up a lot no matter what. A lot of us are playing 40 minutes a game and we're still fighting through it." -- Arizona guard Nic Wise. LINK.

2. "I should have never shot it. I apologize. But I was into the game, and I made it. It was kind of disrespectful to the fans." -- Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez . LINK.

3. "We needed that victory, and we didn't get it, so it's disappointing." -- Michigan guard C.J. Lee. LINK.

4. "Banging against [Jon Brockman] every day is real tough. Right now, to me he's like a living legend." -- Washington forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning. LINK.

5. "The cure for a loss is playing right away. Monday will be perfect." -- Notre Dame guard Tory Jackson. LINK.

Story of the day

The Syracuse Daily Orange's Kyle Austin and Jared Diamond: LINK.

Maybe Paul Harris didn't eat a big enough breakfast before Sunday afternoon's game. Because with about five minutes remaining in the first half, after point guard Jonny Flynn missed a free throw, Harris took a handful of popcorn from a fan in the front row and started munching on his way back to play defense.

G - Greivis Vasquez, Maryland. 33 points and five assists in the Terrapins' defeat of the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

G, Jonny Flynn, Syracuse. 17 points (on five of eight shooting), seven assists, and five rebounds in the Orange's win over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

G - Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin. 19 points (on seven for 11 shooting) in the Badgers' defeat of the Michigan Wolverines.

F - Weyinmi Efejuku, Providence. 28 points (on six of seven shooting from the field and 15 of 17 shooting from the charity stripe) in the Friars' road win at the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

G-F - Josh Carter, Texas A&M. 29 points (on nine for 12 shooting, including seven of 10 from behind the arc), five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and no turnovers in the Aggies' win over Iowa State.

G - F. A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech. 26 points (on 10 for 17 shooting) and 10 rebounds in the Hokies' loss to the Duke Blue Devils.

F - Jordan Hill, Arizona. 27 points (on 12 for 18 shooting), 10 rebounds, and three assists in the Wildcats' loss to the Washington Huskies.

F - Patrick Patterson, Kentucky. 28 points (on 12 for 17 shooting), nine rebounds, and three assists in the Wildcats' loss to the LSU Tigers.

Honorable Mention: F - Chase Budinger, Arizona. 20 points (on eight for 13 shooting) and eight rebounds in the Wildcats' loss to the Washington Huskies.

CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish continues to rank Duke as a Top 10 team. Gary's readers continue to send him hate mail for not hating on the Blue Devils.

Who is right? Parrish, without a doubt. Not only are the Blue Devils one of the nation's best clubs, but Duke also deserves significantly more national championship consideration than the Blue Devils have received to date.

Gary is right to praise Duke's body of work. The Blue Devils are 12-5 against the RPI Top 75 and haven't lost to a team outside the RPI Top 50. More importantly, the Blue Devils are also the only team in the country that ranks in the Top 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Duke is the country's sixth most prolific team on offense, averaging 1.17 points per possession, and seventh most stingy team on defense, allowing opponents only 0.88 points per possession.

Why should you care? Because according to KenPom.com, all five of the most recent NCAA Tournament champions were among the nation's Top 12 most efficient clubs on both offense and defense.

Who besides Duke may cut down the nets in April? Connecticut, North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, and BYU. (Ok, maybe not BYU). All five clubs (the Cougars included) are among America's 20 most efficient clubs on both offense and defense.

Which teams deserve less love than they’ve been receiving? Pittsburgh and Memphis. While the Panthers are the nation's best team on offense, they are only the 34th best team on defense. Similarly, while the Tigers are the country's best defensive club, they are only the nation’s 32nd best offensive squad.

(BCS football-playing conferences)

F - Jon Brockman, Washington. 21 points (on eight for 12 shooting) and 11 rebounds in the Huskies' win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

F - Yancy Gates, Cincinnati. 22 points (on nine for 11 shooting) and 11 rebounds in the Bearcats' win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

F - James Johnson, Wake Forest. 28 points (on 12 of 16 shooting) and 18 rebounds in the Demon Deacons' win over ther North Carolina State Wolfpack.

F - Josh Shipp, UCLA. 24 points (on nine for 12 shooting), seven rebounds, and four assists in the Bruins' road victory over the Stanford Cardinal.

F - DeShawn Sims, Michigan. 29 points (on 13 of 16 shooting), five rebounds, two blocks, and no turnovers in the Wolverines' upset of the Purdue Boilermakers.

(Non BCS football-playing conferences)

F - J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State. 25 points (on nine for 11 shooting) and six rebounds in the Vikings' road win at the Valparaiso Crusaders.

F - Bobby Davis, South Carolina-Upstate. 33 points (on 11 of 18 shooting), 11 rebounds, and five assists in the Spartans' defeat of the Mercer Bears.

F - Noah Dahlman, Wofford. 36 points (on 16 of 23 shooting) and 10 rebounds in the Terriers' road loss to the College of Charleston Cougars.

F - Olajide Hay, Tennessee-Martin. 22 points (on 10 of 12 shooting) and 12 rebounds in the Skyhawks' defeat of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

F - Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga. 29 points (on 12 of 17 shooting) and nine rebounds in the Zags' win over the Santa Clara Broncos.

The weatherman.

No, really.

Ken Pomeroy didn't forecast last night's big upset. On the Wolverines' team page, he gave Michigan only a 33 percent chance of upsetting the Purdue Boilermakers.

But Pomeroy's consistency rating also suggested to bubble watchers that they should have this week expected the unexpected from John Beilein's club. Michigan (267), Iowa (324), and Purdue (232) are all ranked as among the nation's least consistent clubs. There was always a significant possibility that on Sunday Michigan would perform particularly poorly while Iowa performed particularly well and that on Thursday Michigan would have an especially good night well while Purdue have an especially rough outing.

If past is prologue, bubble watchers should on Saturday keep a close eye on UCLA against Cal. Both the Bruins (240) and Golden Bears (234) are inconsistent, hinting that while Pomeroy forecasts Cal will lose, the stars may align for another UCLA defeat.

G - Scotty Hopson, Tennessee. 21 points (on seven for 11 shooting), six rebounds, and three assists in the Volunteers' (must-)win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

F - Bill Clark, Duquesne. 22 points (on eight of 12 shooting), eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and only two turnovers in the Dukes' road victory at the Massachusetts Minutemen.

F - Damian Hollis, George Washington. 25 points (on eight for 13 shooting, including the game-tying bucket in regulation and the first five points in overtime) and 13 rebounds in the Colonials' win over the Charlotte 49ers.

C - Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut. 14 points (on four for four shooting) and 15 rebounds in the Huskies' win over the Marquette Golden Eagles.