By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

With all that talent, I really want to like Texas, but there is something seriously wrong with Rick Barnes' bunch.

I don't know why the Longhorns can't seem to put together a complete game the last few weeks. After starting 17-0 and earning their first-ever No. 1 ranking, a loss at Kansas State on Jan. 18 triggered the team's current 2-5 stretch.

Fortunately for the Horns, they can go 4-3 the rest of the way to finish 23-8 and 9-7 in the Big 12 heading into the conference tournament and probably earn a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That's not too terrible.

Or, Barnes can get his team figured out somewhere along the way and Texas can get back to being the team we saw in the first two months of the season, the team many expected to reach the Final Four. A team that doesn't spend 11 straight scoreless minutes against the No. 1 team in the country, as it did against visiting Kansas Monday night. A team that doesn't commit 17 turnovers that lead to 27 points for the opposition.

Until I see such a turnaround, however, Texas looks like it will need to play near-perfect basketball just to advance past the second round.

Even to achieve that 4-3 finish, Texas needs to get back to playing physically, committing itself to the glass and earning better looks. The Longhorns seem to launch many contested shots. Maybe it's just a coincidence that they play teams who play their best defensive games. Or maybe there's just not enough movement in Texas' sets and therefore open looks are scarce.

Whatever the reason, Texas has some time -- not much, but some -- to get things figured out and get back on the winning track.

'NOVA LOOKING NICE: Guards and depth, guards and depth, guards and depth.

That's what will take Villanova back to the Final Four this year.

Even in their loss Saturday at Georgetown, during which the Hoyas built a 23-point lead, the Wildcats played hard the entire time and because of that, it seemed like Villanova was always within striking distance, even late in the game.

But Monday's impressive win at No. 4 West Virginia was another reminder that the Wildcats' backcourt is one of the best in the country, and that few teams can boast an 11-man rotation the way Villanova does sometimes.

FINAL FOUR PICKS: My projected Final Four sees one change this week, and it involves the two teams described above. I thought Texas might have turned the corner with a nice road win at Oklahoma State last week, but I'm obviously hurrying far away from that pick now. I had Villanova in the Elite Eight, but the Wildcats are now my pick to win the West.

+ EAST: Syracuse (West Virginia)
+ SOUTH: Kentucky (Duke)
+ MIDWEST: Kansas (Michigan State)
+ WEST: Villanova (Gonzaga)
+ SLEEPER: Siena

TUBE TIME: Keep your schedule open for the following games this week:

+ Tuesday: Tennessee at Vanderbilt (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
+ Tuesday: Purdue at Michigan State (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
+ Wednesday: Duke at North Carolina (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
+ Thursday: Washington at California (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
+ Thursday: St. Mary's at Gonzaga (11 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
+ Friday: West Virginia at Pittsburgh (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
+ Saturday: Tennessee at Kentucky (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Are you following me on Twitter? @onegreatseason | @johnpwise

Each Monday until the national championship is played in Indianapolis on April 5, One Great Season will count down the Top 10 National Championship games since 1979, when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson squared off in Salt Lake City. Today's No. 9 is the 1999 championship game between Connecticut and Duke, played in St. Petersburg, Fla.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Connecticut and Duke were the only teams to be ranked No. 1 during the 1998-99 regular season, so when the Huskies and Blue Devils won their Final Four semifinal games on March 27, expectations for a great title game shot through the roof of Tropicana Field.

And the sides didn't disappoint two nights later. UConn won its first national championship, 77-74, over a seemingly unbeatable Duke team that was playing in its eighth title game.

The Blue Devils hadn't lost since November and were going for an NCAA record 38 victories, as well as the school's third national championship.

Connecticut, meanwhile, was a fairly new player in the elite class of college basketball. The Huskies got to the Elite Eight to open the 1990s, only to lose to Duke when Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater sent the Devils to the Final Four.

But to close the decade during which Duke won two national titles, Connecticut earned its first crown for coach Jim Calhoun by playing an up-tempo game that many thought would have favored Duke's more athletic players.

The Huskies, however, got 27 points from All-American Richard Hamilton, as well as two huge defensive stops late in the game.

Connecticut's Ricky Moore, one of the top defenders in the country, got great positioning to force Duke's sharpshooting guard, Trajan Langdon, into a late traveling violation. Moments later, UConn's Khalid El-Amin converted two free throws to stretch the Huskies' lead to 77-74 with 5.2 seconds left.

And when Duke looked for Langdan on its final possession, the fifth-year senior couldn't even get a potential game-tying shot launched because he fell near the three-point arc and lost control of the ball.

With that, UConn had its crown and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was left to ponder a sixth title-game loss.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Rather than writing about something everyone else is writing about, I like to instead cover the coverage of an event from time to time.

So after scanning through Twitter the last couple hours, here's what folks are saying about Super Bowl XLVI, as well as the commercials and the halftime performance by The Who:

The Game

@jnsanchez -- "Did Reggie Bush even play last night? I can't believe that there's still so much hype around a below average RB."

@BlogAndTackle -- "Payton says he had Lombardi Trophy in his bed last night. Jokes that he may have drooled on it."

@colinlefevre -- "Man was #SB44 an amazing game last night... but just like every year, today is a sad day. No more football until Canada Day :("

@BrentWoodcox: "Hard to see Manning as best QB of all time when he is only 9-9 in postseason. Still has years left to cement a legacy though."

@funnyordie: "If you thought Katrina was bad, wait until you see what Super Bowl victory celebrations do to New Orleans."

@PressClubNOLA: "Great job by NOLA journos this weekend! SB44 and election coverage! Give yourselves a pat on the back, and get back to work!"

@BlackCanseco: "Tim Tebow got more misplaced hate Sunday than Matt Stover."

@EricStangel: "Overheard at Favre home 'I want to call a press conference.' 'No Brett. let the SB teams have the attention please.'"

@CubsFan_BudMan: "So all the obnoxious Colts fans @ work called in sick today. Hope they're huggin the porcelin god for all the crap they were talkin last week."

@jalenrose -- "I'm upset my boy Colts QB Peyton Manning didn't shake hands w/Saints players after the game!"

The Ads

@marcEbennett -- "SB44 Advertising - Nothing truly memorable. Lot of ideas that were played...and re-played. Google was engaging, and Miller HL, creative."

@mbimotmog -- "All politics aside, that Tim Tebow ad for Focus on the Family felt like the creepiest Match.com ad ever."

@koamedia -- "Ads for #sb44. Mediocre to me, tho a couple LOL moments (Abe, Leno, space chicken). Google was poignant, I felt a tug."

@ADBOWL10 -- "Curiously, men ranked Snickers #1 (which women ranked #2). women ranked Google #1 (which men ranked #5)."

@kristofcreative -- "Somebody pls put the GoDaddy commercials out of their misery."

@BlitzConnects -- "45 minutes of ads during this year's Superbowl... Bet you can't remember more than 10 of them."

@hofflimits -- "I hope everyone enjoyed last night's Superbowl Adverts, and didn't find the football too intrusive."

@justinmccammon -- "Disappointed by sbads Google was the best but only because everyone else seemed to let the recession scare the creativity out of them."

@kcheyfitz -- "In the end, we'll all remember the game long after we've completely forgotten the ads. A great night for football; not so for marketing."

@chrisbrogan -- "Flo-TV needs to team up with iPad."

The Who

@nlord53 -- "I don't care what anyone says, I thought The Who at SB44 were flippin awesome... and that stage was ridiculous! So cool!"

@ianruns26point2 -- "The Who really rocked the balls off the #Superbowl half time show."

@davidfmatheson -- "Kept thinking while watching #thewho that I would have preferred #arcadefire. This was reinforced by the NFL's own 'Best Fans' commercials."

@whirledworld -- "Still shaking my head about the 1/2time show, trying to decide between 'Can't Explain' or 'Rock is Dead' as the more apropos lyric."

@drraley -- "I used to listen to #thewho, but not sure that was the same band last night. Was that R Daltery or his mom? 

@garrydunne -- "This years Super Bowl half time show didn't do it for me. I don't think #TheWho have massive cross audience appeal, but nice stage light!"

@rawrieborealis -- "Little did we know, but superbowl event planners have tried to book #thewho every year from 1977 on & only in 2010 did their wish come true." 

@bobschnyder -- "Why did the halftime band sing nothing but CSI intro themes?"

@panthea -- "Rapidly moving lights will distract people from bad music at a rave, not the Super Bowl."

@nickolaswriter -- "Love how Daltry's final 'Won't Get Fooled Again' shout started near his balls, and just roared."

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

There's at least one thing sadder than the report that Rey Maualuga plans to undergo alcohol rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center, and that's the likelihood that Maualuga will surely find himself with a beer in his hand again soon.

Betty Ford isn't for people who had a bad weekend or who want to slow things down. It's for people who've hit what recovering drinkers like to call rock bottom.

By all means, feel remorse for your recent DUI arrest and subsequent guilty plea, but please understand, big fella, that rehab is for quitters. Those who want to quit drinking. Forever.

Maualauga's behavioral shortcomings are well known, and being a rich, young, single athlete in sleepy Cincinnati -- a city that will definitely make you miss the sexy offerings of Los Angeles, where not long ago he played his college football -- suggests he will get bored and surely find trouble again.

Celebrities in our image-obsessed culture like to think a public admission of guilt and a vow to go to therapy or rehab suddenly means everything is going to get better. But such a stance requires far more of a commitment than a 23-year-old millionaire is probably prepared for. I wish Maualuga luck, but I don't think he'll stick to it.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

I can't remember the last time I was looking forward to watching a Super Bowl. Though I didn't move to New York until 2006, there was some sincere excitement leading up to the Giants-Patriots classic two years ago.

But overall, the hype is a bigger deal than the game itself, and our excessive culture seems to prefer it that way. Remember, we're the people whom folks from other parts of the world love to hate. You don't agree? Well, Exhibit A of our over-the-top gluttony will be on display after 6 o'clock ET tonight.

I hate many things about the Super Bowl, but these nine things in particular:

+ Two weeks of ridiculous hype -- Didn't the NFL try to go to the one-week format not too long ago? Why not stick with it? College basketball is the only sport that should be played in February.

+ Groupies in South Beach -- For many, the Super Bowl is a chance for tight-shirted women to try to sleep with meet celebrities on the party circuit. Truly disgusting.

+ Halftime music -- Regardless of how tired the acts are, since when did the pinnacle of American professional football go hand-in-hand with music? It's a sporting event, not a concert.

+ The "World Champions" tag that's handed to the winner -- Typical American arrogance. How does the National Football League crown a world champion?

+ Tickets -- The Super Bowl is almost like an NCAA Tournament first- and second-round site. Sure the seats are filled, but with how many true fans of the teams actually playing in the game?

+ Media Day -- The larger the stage, the more exposure journalists get for their annoying practices. How the fuck does a reporter who asked Tom Brady to marry him a few years back get credentialed?

+ Dwight Freeney -- A torn ligament does not heal in two weeks. But because it's the Super Bowl and those who play in it are macho, Freeney might play. Meathead.

+ Chris Berman -- I'm sure when ESPN's NFL broadcast team signs off tonight, this jackhole will use one of his many weak classic rock references. Nothing he's said in the last 10 years has been fresh. But that won't stop him from dropping a "What a long, strange trip it's been" note during the postgame when signaling the close of another great NFL season. (Bonus video: Berman's on-set meltdown)

+ Greatness -- I just heard a couple of analysts say Drew Brees has to win in order to be considered great. Oh, really? Well then, does that make obselete their analysis of him throughout the regular season and pretty much the last three or four years?

Broadcasting school doesn't prepare you for everything, but Dick Enberg and Clark Kellogg were up to the challenge of calling in 2006 one of the most significant moments in the history of intercollegiate athletics.

Southern Illinois University cheerleader Kristi Yamaoka fell head-first from her perch atop a human pyramid, about 10 feet in the air at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. It all went down during a timeout, and when the broadcast returned from the break, there sat Enberg and Kellogg, a couple of unflinching pros describing the scene.

And what an incredibly weak scene it was when Yamaoka, after being strapped onto a stretcher, began cheering as she was being carried off the court. I know it's a few years old and you probably saw it at work the day after it happened, but if this doesn't get you pumped for the stretch run of the college basketball season, I don't know what will.

]]>http://onegreatseason.com/home/rss-comments-entry-6571272.xmlRecruitingSigning DayJohn P. WiseThu, 04 Feb 2010 14:55:08 +0000http://onegreatseason.com/home/2010/2/4/signing-day-reveals-another-ugly-side-of-college-football.html395609:4298590:6559290

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

I can't remember when exactly Signing Day became a parade of ugliness, but at some point, 17-year-old children thought to themselves it would be a good idea to bring all their siblings, parents, cousins and guardians to a cheap-looking high-school podium and use their poor verbal skills to proudly announce which team they would most likely ride the bench for the following fall.

You know the expression, "Act like you've been there before?" While it's usually spoken by uptight, older white men, a teen can't act like he's been there before because announcing his college decision is a once-in-a-lifetime event. So he wants to make it memorable and special, but is there no way to do it other than to schedule a look-at-me-as-I-put-on-this-new-hat moment in front of a few cameras?

Sure a handful of these youngsters will make immediate contributions at their new schools next season, but for the most part, these high school superstars will be taking their skills to a level they're entirely unfamiliar with and largely unprepared for. They're off to the SEC, the Big 10 or the Big 12 to not only become better football players, but also in the hopes of their new coaches -- and their families -- to become better people.

Each of these is a tall order by itself, but trying to simultaneously fill both will be the most difficult thing this teenager will have been asked to do so far in his young and increasingly complicated life. And he'll take on that task without the support group that coddled him throughout high school when he was scoring touchdowns, breaking records and choosing which cheerleader he felt entitled to have sex with after yet another Friday night victory under the lights. (this article continues below.)

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told OGS Tuesday that "all these recruiting gurus will disappear when they sign," and by next week, the post-circus hoopla will have passed and many of these athletes will start to miss all the attention they've grown used to the last few years. The burden of deciding now behind them, the only pressure left is the pressure to perform for the next four or five years at an elite level. Good luck with that.

Who do we blame for setting these youngsters up for failure? Our sports-obsessed culture? ESPN? The business of the sport of college football? I'm sure all are partly to blame, and there are no doubt other factors. Assigning blame is one of the most American habits of our culture; we love to point the finger. But unfortunately, out-of-whack perspective is another staple. Far too many of these kids have already made their biggest plays in athletics, and college will prove to be difficult for them. But they'll keep at it because football is what they're best at. Football is what brought them this attention in the first place. And of course, all those pretty cheerleaders.

Just because you haven't been there before doesn't mean you can't act like it. Learn some humility, choose your school, and save the celebration for the championships you plan to help your new team win.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

The casual sports fan might not know everything about Northwestern football, but there appears to be nothing casual about Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald or his approach to recruiting.

"It's the lifeblood of a program," Fitzgerald told OGS in a telephone interview Tuesday, hours before Wednesday's nearly national holiday known as Signing Day.

"It's absolutely critical to get the right young men into your program," he continued. "You go after guys who you think will fit what you value."

Penn State is expected to confirm another high-powered recruiting class Wednesday, and fellow traditional power Ohio State won't be too far behind. But don't expect Fitzgerald to go seeking treatment for an inferiority complex anytime soon.

"Since 1995, we've won more Big Ten championships than anyone except Ohio State," Fitzgerald said, perhaps offering a previously unknown tip to that casual sports fan. The fifth-year coach has no problem pitching his program.

"We've won 17 games the last two years, 54 of our players have a grade-point average over 3.0, we've got one of the best faculties than any university in the world can offer and while you're here in school, you get to be in Evanston, right in the backyard of Chicago," Fitzgerald said, all in one breath. "Do you want me to keep going? I can go for an hour on what I tell recruits to get them to come to Northwestern."

Whatever he's telling them, it's working. Fitzgerald said he has 17 young athletes ready to sign on Wednesday, 12 of whom "committed before the end of their senior year." Earning their verbal assurances during the fall was a much bigger deal than whatever hoopla we'll see on television throughout the day Wednesday.

"Getting them committed was much more labor intensive than what it will take for us to sit around and wait for a fax (Wednesday)," Fitzgerald joked.

You can't help but be impressed by the coach who just turned 35 in December, as well as his energy and positivity. But while the ultimate goal for any Big Ten team is to get to Pasadena, not everything about college football comes up roses.

"Fans get so caught up in star ratings and other things that might not matter," Fitzgerald said as the conversation shifted toward social media's place in recruiting. "You go on the ticker and you see how ESPN is glorifying how these kids are de-committing. It shouldn't be about which hat a kid chooses over another. These kids haven't played a down of football in college. I think the more we glorify it, the more we're setting them up for failure. I'm not totally enamored by it, if you can't tell."

Even though he's one of the youngest coaches in the sport, today's recruiting scene is a far different one than when he was a prep star who eventually signed on to play for Gary Barnett at Northwestern in the early 1990s.

"A lot of these kids want the glory and all these things written about them on Internet sites, but the stone-cold reality is that they're just starting over at a brand new level," Fitzgerald said. "All these recruiting gurus will disappear when they sign."

But Fitzgerald won't play the you-ain't-nothing card with his youngsters ... until they ask for it, of course.

"If we get a young man who thinks he's a finished product by the end of his senior year of high school, he's probably not going to be a good fit with our program," he said. "The athletic component is easy, but if you don't want to work on the football field or in the offseason, you're not going to make it at Northwestern. I'm looking for guys who say things like, 'Coach, develop me.' I don't cohabitate very well with guys who are prima donnas."

Follow One Great Season on Twitter @onegreatseason.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

After Tuesday's convincing defeat of Michigan State, Wisconsin (17-5, 7-3 Big Ten) has a very favorable remaining schedule down the stretch. The Badgers already have split with Purdue and Ohio State, and the toughest league opponent left for them is Illinois, which Wisconsin will play twice. Two games against Indiana also await, as do games against Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa.

The Badgers seem to be rounding into form as they await the return of Jon Leuer. Left on Michigan State's schedule are road dates at Illinois and Purdue, as well as home games against Ohio State and Purdue. And Sparty (19-4, 9-1) might have to play without reigning Big Ten Player Of The Year Kalin Lucas, who left Tuesday's game with a badly sprained ankle.

With Purdue getting healthy and Ohio State playing some nice basketball, the conference race just got a lot more interesting.

TWITTER NOTES: Here's a sign that we are definitely living in an interesting time: Ohio State star Evan Turner, whose Twitter handle is @thekidet, offered up a sympathetic note ("glad u ain't get hurt on that fall my dude") to Syracuse star Wesley Johnson -- @W_Johnson -- after Johnson landed very awkwardly during Tuesday's game against Providence.

Shortly after Syracuse wrapped up the easy win, Johnson, who ended up being OK, reciprocated: "Appreciate it bro."

TEXAS BOAST: I know it's just one win, but I think Texas has broken free from its slump. You barely heard the names Damion James, Avery Bradley, Dexter Pittman or J'Covan Brown on Monday night's broadcast, yet the Longhorns beat a decent Oklahoma State team on the road by a dozen. That's impressive, as was Jordan Hamilton's second-half scoring spree.

UCONN'T HANDLE THIS TRUTH: Connecticut isn't struggling because its coach, Jim Calhoun, is on medical leave. The Huskies are struggling because they're just not as good as they usually are. Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson are nice guards, but there's not much else about UConn that excites me.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

It's February. Pretenders and contenders have been separated. Teams have declared their superiority.

Many squads are playing to get into the NCAA tournament, while a few elites already are playing for their seeds. Between now and Selection Sunday on March 14, there are 12 games that you do not want to miss. They are listed below:

Mon., Feb. 8, Kansas at Texas, 9 p.m. -- It's too bad these teams play only once this year, but next week's showdown in Austin will reveal KU's invincibility ... or its vulnerability.

Mon., Feb. 8, Villanova at West Virginia, 7 p.m. -- Villanova has got to be one of the least heralded No. 2 teams in history, but the Wildcats have four games left this season against teams currently ranked among the top eight. This will be an interesting one.

Sat., Feb. 13, Xavier at Florida, 6 p.m. -- Florida has far more to lose than gain in this game, so the Gators should just go ahead and win this one. But Xavier finds itself once again at the top of the A-10 standings, and could get a huge resume boost with a win in Gainesville.

Sat., Feb. 13, Rhode Island at Temple, 4 p.m. -- Six A-10 teams finished the month of January with at least 15 wins, and five of them have just one or two league losses. This conference is wide open, so you can bet February will be a mad scramble.

Sat., Feb. 20, Ohio State at Michigan State, TBA -- I don't expect a road win for the Buckeyes, but they're playing excellent basketball right now and have five winnable games before this one, so confidence could be through the roof when OSU visits East Lansing.

Sat., Feb. 20, Xavier at Charlotte, 2 p.m. -- If URI at Temple isn't the best game left on the A-10 schedule, it's this one. Many thought Xavier was rebuilding this year, but the Muskies are in position for a league title and a solid NCAA tournament seed.

Thurs., Feb. 25, California at Arizona, 9 p.m. -- Yes, I did sneak a PAC 10 game into this list. Why? Because this league is suffering through its worst season in years, and I'd be surprised if even one team got an at-large bid. The Bears and Wildcats have their eyes set on the automatic bid.

Sat., Feb. 27, Kentucky at Tennessee, noon -- The last Saturday in February is really shaping up to be a great one, at least for those who own a couch and a television. This will be a great game to start the fun with its track-meet potential.

Sat., Feb. 27, Michigan State at Purdue, TBA -- These teams meet twice within 18 days, and this second game in West Lafayette could offer more Big Ten spoils for the victor.

Sat., Feb. 27, New Mexico at BYU, 4 p.m. -- The Cougars will be looking to avenge their lone league loss, last week at New Mexico. The winner of this game likely will win the MWC and get a well-deserved No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Sat., Feb. 27, Villanova at Syracuse, 9 p.m. -- Here's another tough road test for 'Nova that will no doubt have an impact on the Big East race just about 10 days before the league tournament starts.

Wed., March 3, Kansas State at Kansas, 8 p.m. -- Kansas could have the Big 12 title and a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed locked up by then, but that doesn't mean the Jayhawks will take a nap against its in-state rival. KSU will have more to play for, including revenge for Saturday's overtime loss to KU in the Octagon.