-- Jerry Palm of collegerpi.com argues the NCAA's RPI ratings are wrong. The House of Brand has, per Palm, incorrectly classified nine neutral venue games as home-away contests and credited 18 clubs with victories over non-Division I opponents.

-- Did You Know? USC coach Tim Floyd turned down Martin Iti. The former Charlotte center called Floyd before making a similar inquiry with New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus.

-- The lede of the day, courtesy C.L. Brown at the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal.

Errek Suhr was so disgusted after the Indiana University basketball team lost at Minnesota on Sunday that the 5-foot-8 former walk-on shunned media requests for interviews.

-- Hypocrisy Watch: East Tennessee State University cheerleading coach Tammy Bartow, wife of ETSU basketball coach Murry Bartow, kicked Kimberly Sams off of the school's cheerleading team after learning of Sams' work at Hooters.

"If the basketball team can come in[to Hooters] and eat, then I should be able to work," Sams said. "I feel more embarrassed to wear my [cheerleading ] skirt sometimes at the games than I do walking around in my [Hooters] uniform. We wear pantyhose [at Hooters]. We don't underneath my cheerleading skirt."

-- Did you know Gonzaga leads the nation in free throw shooting? Come NCAA Tournament time, the 'Zags accuracy from the charity stripe ought be considered when completing your bracket.

-- An Old Dominion student has been charged in connection to the January 25th shooting of Monarchs basketball player Brandon Johnson.

-- For only the second time in history, Dick Vitale will tonight broadcast live from Xavier's Cintas Center. My money is on...the Musketeers rather than the George Washington Colonials. Why? GW's poor play in a road loss to North Carolina State.

-- The Philadelphia (PA) Daily News' Dick Jerardi reports that Saint Joseph's assistant Monte Ross or Sixers director of player development Doug Overton may soon replace David Henderson at Delaware.

-- More Jerardi: "In the last five seasons, every team in the Southeastern Conference has been in the NCAA Tournament at least once." Most interesting, no?

-- The Patriot League's Committee on Athletic Administration will not today issue a final verdict regarding Lehigh University's offer to forfeit 13 basketball wins from last season. The Mountain Hawks in 2004-2005 played Joe Knight, a player the NCAA this fall deemed ineligible. Knight, the NCAA determined, did not at Tarrant Community College in suburban Dallas take enough courses to qualify for a transfer to Lehigh.

-- Matt Doherty:

"I don't want to go back to Chapel Hill. I don't want to go back to see a game. I don't want to take my son and say, 'This is where I hung out as a student. Maybe you'll come to school here some day.' All those rosy, warm feelings you have about your alma mater, I don't have them. I feel like the black sheep of the family."

-- Woah. I hadn't noticed eight timeouts were called -- yet not a single field goal made -- in the final seven seconds of Stanford-Washington regulation.

-- Rutgers' Quincy Douby scored a Carrier Dome-record 41 points against Syracuse.

Coach Jim Les(s is More):

"I have to review whether I want to be in the Bracket Buster. I misled our team and I feel bad. I told them at the start of last week we needed to win both games and that would put us in the TV game. We put ourselves in as one of those top 13 teams, but weren't rewarded as such. I've heard explanations from the commissioner, none of which I buy."

But if you try sometimes you might find, you get what you need.

MVC commissioner Doug Elgin:

"I believe Bradley was easily one of the best 16 teams in this mix. I'll defend Bradley to the end in terms of their potential to get into the NCAA tournament...But ESPN has a lot invested in this event and I don't disagree they need a representative sampling of teams and some brand names. As a conference, we have five games in one day on ESPN. That's more than we have the rest of the year combined on ESPN, CBS and ESPN2. It's great exposure for us."

-- University of Northern Iowa athletics director Rick Hartzel served as Bucknell's A.D. for 11 years before coming to UNI, and hired both Greg McDermott and Pat Flannery...Am I the only one who believes that the Bucknell-UNI game will, if anything, lower the probability both teams go dancing? The Bison, for example, are on the bubble with an RPI of 34.

-- Asked about the event, the dean of mid-majority coaches, Dana Altman, argued bigger isn't always better: "I have mixed emotions. I think it was really good when it started. But now there's 100 teams. So, I don't know. I think there's some merit to it. I'm just taking a wait and see attitude this year." ...Fresno State? Ack. The Bluejays will have a field day.

-- Hawaii coach Riley Wallace, whose Rainbow Warriors were for the first time in the four-year history of the Bracket Buster denied a game on national television: "The worst part about it is that payback game. And when you don't get a TV game, it doesn't feel worth it." ...Want a TV game? Win on the road.

That is the question. Did the Cardinals demonstrate progress in a single-digit road loss? Or did the Villanova Wildcats, teasers them, affirm their vulnerability - and experience - in barely pulling rank for a third straight contest?

Or both.

The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal's Rick Bozich writes that the only thing the Cardinals have to fear is fear itself: "What Louisville must do over these final eight games is play with the lack of fear it showed last night...Shoot the three-point shot as if you expect to make it. And then shoot as if you are certain it's going in...Play like Rick Pitino teams have always played, not like the tentative team that showed up for the damaging defeats at St. John's and Rutgers...Don't fear mistakes. Force mistakes."

The Delaware (PA) County Times' Terry Toohey notes experience has enabled Villanova to win tight games: "Villanova lost eight games two years ago by five points or less. Last season, the Wildcats' eight losses were by a total of 33 points, five by two points or less. They’ve been there and done that and that experience has made them tougher. That was evident in the last week. Villanova went on a 10-0 run to erase a 45-38 deficit against South Florida last Tuesday and then scored seven of the last nine points to foil Notre Dame’s upset bid on Lowry’s tip in of a Foye miss with 1.7 seconds to play in the game."

But as the Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer's Phil Sheridan looks to the future, so do I. Sheridan lauds Jay Wright's "playing with his roster's chemistry set" in baptizing Shane Clark (23 minutes) and Dante Cunningham (20 minutes) by fire. Along with the Philadelphia (PA) Daily News' Dana Pennett O'Neil, I attempt to read the tea leaves about Curtis Sumpter's would-be return. Despite several hours a day of rehab, Curtis does not appear to be making the progress necessary for a late February or early March return.

Elsewhere:

-- Hawaii continued to struggle off the island, Kansas appeared worthy of an at-large bid against Texas Tech, and Iona lost at home to two-time defending national scoring champ Keydren Clark and Saint Peter's, dropping the Gaels into a tie for first in the MAAC with Manhattan.

-- ESPN2's The Season airs at midnight tonight, providing a behind-the-scenes look at Florida Atlantic's progress under former Notre Dame and North Carolina coach Matt Doherty. But the Owls, notably, dropped consecutive games to Lipscomb and are now a game back in the Atlantic Sun.

-- On Wednesday, when Syracuse welcomes Rutgers to the Carrier Dome, fans will be asked to -- get this -- dress like Jim Boeheim. The Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard's Bud Poliquin previews that which is to come.

In the lamentable era of flares and leisure suits and Dingo boots and sideburns and satin bomber jackets and Hawaiian shirts and Zapata mustaches and velour and cheese cloth and too much open chest decorated with too many medallions, men didn't really have wardrobes. They had costumes.

Jim Boeheim, a poster boy for those times, was no different. It's simply his ill luck that his celebrity status meant that, more than just about anybody else in these parts, he was caught on camera for generations to study in attire that should have included a fright wig, but didn't.

CSTV has signed deals with two new NCAA basketball conferences, the America East and the Patriot League, to broadcast those league's games online.

Both conferences will make their games available to fans on CSTV.com as part of the site's XXL Broadband Package through the end of the current season in March. The XXL package, which is available for either $14.95 per month and $99.95 per year.

Webster's defines "leverage" as "positional advantage; power to act effectively." (OK, whom am I kidding? Dictionary.com defines it that way.)

The must-reads for Monday, January 30, 2006.

1. Rick Pitino's pessimistic comments about his Louisville Cardinals. Asked about his team's propensity to make runs, Pitino responded. LINK

"The reason I can't buy into it -- and we have to look at it game by game -- is we don't shoot well...I've had slower and less athletic teams make them, but they all shot the ball. The old expression is that shooting cures a multitude of sins. We just can't cure our sins. We get a wide-open shot, look to get the press on, make a run. Nope. We don't make the shot."

2. John Brice's article for the Maryville (TN) News. Note Bruce Pearl won't ever volunteer to be quiet. LINK

"The thing is, [coach Bruce Pearl]'s always talking," [Tennessee] senior forward Stanley Asumnu said. "You're down on that end, and he's talking and coaching you. Coaching you through it, sometimes. Just to hear his voice, you know what he wants out of you. It's a great help coming down the stretch in the second half."

3. Dick Jerardi's "College Hoops Wrap" for the Philadelphia (PA). Daily News. Note Georgetown's debut in Jerardi's Top 15 and Dick's heightened interest in St. Joseph's-Villanova. LINK

Besides Penn, there are 11 teams unbeaten in conference play - George Washington (A-10), Duke (ACC), West Virginia (Big East), Northern Arizona (Big Sky), UC Irvine (Big West), Memphis and UTEP (C-USA), Delaware State (MEAC), LSU (SEC), Bucknell (Patriot) and Gonzaga (WCC).

4. R.B. Fallstrom channeling Ken Pomeroy for the Associated Press. Note that St. Louis has yet to win -- or lose -- consecutive games this season. LINK

It's the longest streak of its kind in NCAA sports, and longer than any in major league baseball or the NFL, although the school is unsure about the NBA. The 1974 Philadelphia Phillies and 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers each alternated wins and losses for 16 games, and the 1994 Indianapolis Colts did it for 12 games.

5. An unsigned (?) Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette column urging Indiana to play rather than redshirt D.J. White if and when he's healthy. LINK

If D.J. White had every intention of spending all four years at IU, then maybe there’s a discussion. But before this season, and before his injuries, there was already speculation that this might have been his final season at IU; that he would spend this season on his mid-range jump shot, improve his strength and defense, and declare himself eligible for the NBA...If he wasn’t going to stay all four years, what’s the sense in saving an extra year of eligibility he won’t even use?

6. Bill Raftery's thoughts on Minnesota's pre-Indiana practice. Hindsight, however, is 20-20. LINK

Raftery watched the Gophers prepare for Indiana on Friday and said, "In all my years in basketball, I have never seen a more spirited practice." Raftery said after watching the practice, he was convinced the Gophers were going to give Indiana all it wanted.

Rocky Mount Telegram (Hugh W. Kellenberger): Good teams do not convert just one basket in a span of 14 possessions. N.C. State learned that lesson Wednesday, falling 83-65 to Seton Hall. Seton Hall outrebounded the Wolfpack 41-27, took 12 more shots in the first half than its nonconference foes and took a long step to ending that ACC vs. Big East argument...

Boston Globe (Aaron Beard, AP): Boston College has moved past its bumpy introduction to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now, the 20th-ranked Eagles are starting to look like the team everyone expected them to be in the preseason...

New York Daily News (Roger Rubin): From the near-phantom pregame handshake between the head coaches, to the low-post fight that ended in two ejections, last night was the embodiment of the growing disdain St. John's and Connecticut have for each other...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Graham Watson): When the final horn sounded on Wednesday's game against Iowa State, the few fans remaining in Mizzou Arena ushered the Tigers back into the locker room with a resounding wave of boos...

Chicago Sun-Times (Herb Gould): Those orange-wearing 80-year-olds, the ones Michigan State coach Tom Izzo marvels at, were quiet for long stretches Wednesday. But in the end, No. 8 Illinois gave its adoring fans plenty to cheer for as it put down Minnesota 77-53. It was the 32nd consecutive victory at Assembly Hall for Illinois, a school record...

Arizona Republic (Norm Frauenheim): It wasn't history. It was more like a lesson. Arizona got to do some homework on plans for bigger things at North Carolina, and Arizona State learned only that it was condemned to repeat the past. The rivalry is a rout, and that's what it was all over again Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Arizona's 80-70 victory over ASU...

As I prepare for a long-overdue update to my blogroll, I thought it best to take a look at the Gang's foray into cyberspace. Hence I led yesterday morning's Fix-like post by crediting Des Moines (IA) Register blogger Chuck Schoffner. But Chuck's "Big Four Basketball" blog is one of many. Elsewhere:

State of the Union: Blogging at "ACC Now," the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer's J.P. Giglio predicts J.J. Redick will torch North Carolina State, scoring the majority of his 30 points against Engin Atsur.

Hoosier Daddy: Blogging at the "Mark Tupper Weblog," the Decatur (IL) Herald & Review's Mark Tupper argues Illinois last night against Indiana missed a golden opportunity to better its standing in the Big Ten. Tupper praises Dee Brown for collecting 11 assists on two turnovers, but critiques the Fighting Illini's star guard for shooting poorly. He also argues James Augustine has to stay out of foul trouble and wonders about the progress of Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle.

Coaches' Corner-ed: At the "NCAA Hoops Blog," the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer's Dustin Dow laments coaches' reluctance (e.g. USC's Tim Floyd) to start personal rivalries and echoes Terence Moore's suggestion in the Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution that Tubby Smith get going from Kentucky (to the NBA) while the going is good.

See also the following blogs, each of which has yet to be updated this morning: "Grinz on Green" by the Booth (MI) Newspaper chain's Steve Grinczel, "Lobo Hoops Extra" by the Albuquerque (NM) Tribune's Jeff Carlton, "Huskies Insider" by the Tacoma (WA) News-Tribune's Don Ruiz, the "College Hoops Blog" by the Providence (RI) Journal's Kevin McNamara, "Michael Smith" by the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal's Michael Smith, the "UMass Sports Blog" by the Daily Hampshire (MA) Gazette's Matt Vautour, "WolfPackZone" by the Reno Gazette-Journal's Chad Hartley, "Gonzaga Basketball" by the Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review's Steve Bergum, "Basketblog" by the Champaign-Urbana (IL) News-Gazette's Brett Dawson, "Dawgblog" by the Southern Illinoisan's Paul Klee, and "Orange Basketball" by the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard's Mike Waters and Kim Baxter.

Finally, an important link from outside the blogosphere.

Tricky Dick: The Philadelphia (PA) Daily News' Jerardi seconds Seth Davis' prediction on CBS.

When this season ends, Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser will take over at Cincinnati. Remember, he had great success in Cincy at Xavier and would be a very popular choice. West Virginia coach John Beilein goes to Wake. And West Virginia alum Bob Huggins emerges from his 1-year exile to return to his alma mater.

Greg McDermott’s Panthers and Chris Lowery’s Salukis battled through two overtimes in Cedar Falls last night, with the endgame coming down to two stars searching for the spotlight.

Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson made a fadeaway bank shot in the second overtime. Southern Illinois’ Jamaal Tatum traveled on the ensuing possession, relaunching the Missouri Valley Conference race. Four teams – each of whom is among both my Field of 65 at Fox Sports and Joe Lunardi’s bracket at ESPN – have five or six wins and one or two losses in league play.

The late ending sidelined many print columnists, but the Des Moines (IA) Register's Chuck Schoffner, himself a blogger, weighed in thanks to the wonders of cyberspace, noting that the game was a must-win for the Erik Crawford-less Panthers, who hit the road for three games following Saturday's visit by Drake.

"Thanks to their victory over Southern Illinois at the UNI-Dome on Monday night, the Panthers are back in the thick of the Missouri Valley Conference race," he writes. "It was a white knuckle special – 71-65 in two overtimes – and left Southern Illinois with its first Valley loss. SIU is now 6-1, with UNI just a half-game back at 6-2. Had the Panthers lost, they might have been too far out to get back in it."

Among print folks reporting for duty, the Southern Illinoisan's Paul Klee, himself a blogger, sets the stage nicely: "The Northern Iowa ticket office could have charged far more than $10 for a general admission ticket Monday night."

Klee's main point: "The Salukis battled through foul trouble. Forwards Randal Falker and Jamaal Foster both fouled out with ample time left in the game. 'Once all their guys got in foul trouble, we just wanted to keep pounding it in there,' [Eric] Coleman said. It could be said that Northern Iowa won the game at the free throw line. The Panthers hit 32 of 38 free throw attempts, while the Salukis were five of 11."

In the Des Moines Register, Rick Brown celebrates a gutsy Grant Stout -- while Stout and Jacobson make no effort to hide their surprise at Greg McDermot's play calling. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining in the first overtime and the Panthers down three, McDermott opted to have Grant rather than Ben take what turned out to be the game-tying three-pointer.

"McDermott knew the Salukis would give Jacobson their undivided attention. He also knew Stout was five inches taller than Jacobson, giving him a better chance to get a shot off," Mr. Brown writes. "So Stout came off a screen by Jacobson and scored. The name of the play? 'I don't know,' Stout said. 'Desperation.'"

* * *

Whew. And you know what? I hear there's another big game tonight.

Mike Davis of the Indiana Hoosiers has certainly heard that. But he'd prefer to downplay the matchup with Bruce Weber and Illinois.

"It's just the fourth game of the season," Davis told Mark Stewart of the Milwaukee (WI) Journal-Sentinel. "It's not a life or death game."

The DeCatur (IL) Herald-Review's Mark Tupper isn't buying Davis' spin and, importantly, wonders whether Weber will instruct his Illini to double-down on Marco Killingsworth."Normally, Illinois would post-trap on a player like Killingsworth, sending a second defender to surround him the instant he catches the ball. But that’s a heck of a gamble considering that Indiana is easily the No. 1 3-point shooting team in the country."

But Big Ten Wonk John Gasaway is, per usual, more eloquent than Tupper in his write-up of the matter at hand. "The question of the day is: will the Illini double-team Marco Killingsworth? Most teams have indeed done so, while Duke, famously, did not. Killingsworth scored 34 that night--but might the Blue Devils have made the correct call, after all? Despite his gaudy effective FG pct. (.636), Killingsworth ranks dead last in the Big Ten in taking care of the ball, a habit that makes him notably less effective as an offensive weapon than Marshall Strickland and Robert Vaden. So why double a team's third option on offense?

True, this may be a blinding flash of the tautological: Killingsworth's turnovers doubtless come in large part from being the target of so many double-teams. Yet even against Duke's single-man coverage, Killingsworth coughed it up seven times. Moreover, the Hoosier big man has demonstrated that he's a proficient passer, adept at responding to the double-team by finding the open man wherever he may be on the arc. For now [Weber] says he could go either way."

* * *

Years from now, it's likely only partisans will remember that Alabama beat Kentucky in Lexington. Which is a shame, because it was a fine game: Jermareo Davidson's 28-point, 8-rebound performance was among the better Rupp Arena outings this year.

Kentucky's struggles, however will be remembered, thanks in part to Tubby Smith's perennially low approval ratings in the Bluegrass State. But leave it to an outsider, Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta (GA) Journal Constitution, to this morning best capture the foul mood.

"Living among the common folk when it comes to hoops is totally unacceptable to Kentucky fans, who exist in a state of perpetual anxiety even when things are going WELL. To have six losses by mid-January, including embarrassments to Indiana (by 26), Kansas (27) and the first loss to Vanderbilt (57-52) at Rupp, has the Wildcat faithful at the basketball equivalent of DEFCON-1. 'Losing three in a row is something that doesn't happen very often around here," said Kyle Easley, who worked the bar at the Lexington Hyatt Hotel (adjacent to Rupp Arena) after Saturday's loss to Alabama. "The people I heard weren't too happy. They said the team didn't look too good."

Barnhart advances three explanations for Kentucky's struggles. The first chalks the Wildcats' losses up to a talent deficit. "There is no question that Kentucky is a team dominated by a good sophomore class surrounded by some average talent." The second blames a lack of chemistry. Per Jay Bilas: "It's just going to take time for the team to adjust to having Morris back." The third suggests the Wildcats are leadership-poor. "Because this team is dominated by sophomores, there is no one to take charge in games or in practice, the way Chuck Hayes did last season."