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Tuesday, December 26, 2000
Tennessee will be tested this week
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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No team has more to gain nationally this week than Tennessee when the undefeated Volunteers play fellow unbeaten Virginia Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic and then Syracuse Friday in upstate New York.
"This will be a reputation thing for us," point guard Tony Harris said. "If we go up there and handle our business like we're supposed to then a lot of people will know that we deserve our ranking and are one of the top teams in the nation."
The Volunteers skirted the edge of an undefeated season, thus far, with a few near misses. They nearly lost at West Virginia, clinging to a one-point win. SMU and Wisconsin gave the Volunteers a run at home. But beating an up-tempo, pressing Virginia team Tuesday at the Meadowlands and then beating Syracuse's zone and shutting down sharp-shooting Preston Shumpert Friday would be a quite a feat.
|  | | Charlie Bell switches from scoring points to the Spartans' point with Marcus Taylor out of action. |
"This will show our ability to adjust to different styles if we can run with Virginia and slow it down and play halfcourt against Syracuse," Harris said. "I'm anxious to find out if we can do this."
Tennessee's strength has been the bench, with Ron Slay adding 11.7 points and 4.6 boards in reserve, and guards Terrence Woods and Harris Walker contributing seven and five points a game, respectively.
"But all the games have been similar in that we're not putting together 40 minutes," Harris said. "We've got to play hard for 40 minutes if we want a chance to beat Virginia and Syracuse."
Meanwhile, the headline game Tuesday takes on a different tone for Michigan State now that point guard Marcus Taylor is out for two to four weeks after suffering fractured finger against Kentucky on Saturday. The Spartans will use shooting guard Charlie Bell at the point, bring David Thomas off the bench as his backup, and cause Bell to spend more time defending the team's top penetrator rather than scorer.
The Spartans are used to this kind of adversity, dealing with the loss of Mateen Cleaves last year. Bell and Thomas had to share the position a year ago when he was gone. They survived well enough to win the national title when Cleaves returned. During his absence they beat teams like North Carolina.
"We have gone through this before," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Monday. "I've been here six years and every year we've lost a guard."
Izzo doesn't want to mess with Thomas after moving him from wing, to point, and back to the wing this year. But he'll have to when he starts him next to Bell and Jason Richardson against Seton Hall. Izzo said he would rather keep Bell on Seton Hall's Darius Lane, which would mean putting the 6-7 Thomas on Pirates' point Andre Barrett. That could cause some problems if he can't handle Barrett's penetration.
Izzo said he could put Richardson on Lane and Bell on Barrett, at times. Taylor was starting to assert himself and was ready to assume the starting role at the point, next to Bell and Richardson.
Taylor can't do anything for two weeks and then will play to pain tolerance with a splint. The problem is the injury is on the tip of his right finger on his shooting hand.
Michigan State has won its "big" games, thus far, beating North Carolina, Florida and Kentucky -- all at home. Seton Hall barely won at Clemson, lost at Illinois, and squeaked by Penn at home.
"Our only road game was against Loyola (of Chicago) and we had a lot of fans there so this will be a new thing for our freshmen," Bell said. "We need the boost of confidence that we can play with teams like Seton Hall on the road."
The Spartans' strength over the Pirates figures to be their interior toughness, and scoring options, even without Taylor. Freshman forward Zach Randolph came off the bench to give the Spartans a scoring lift in the win over Florida.
"This year we have more offensive fire power and a lot of guys who can shoot it and score down low," Bell said. "We've got more balance and we're better defensively."
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Looking back
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Team of the Week
Illinois: The Illini beat Arizona on Saturday, a week after beating Seton Hall. The win established the Illini as a national contender, let alone a team that can challenge Michigan State in the Big Ten. Illinois proved it can be tough defensively, balanced offensively and, once again, resilient when being challenged. The hurdles keep coming at the Illini every game in what has to be one of the toughest non-conference schedules in history.
Player of the Week
David West, Xavier: The sophomore scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds in the Queen City win over Cincinnati. He followed that up with 23 and nine against Marquette on Saturday. Xavier needed a big game out of their undersized center and he delivered in giving the Musketeers a national lift.
Past players of the week:
Dec. 11: Kareem Rush (Missouri)
Dec. 3: Jason Williams (Duke)
Nov. 27: Preston Shumpert (Syracuse)
Nov. 20: Trenton Hassell (Austin Peay)
Nov. 13: Joseph Forte (UNC)
Climbing up
Indiana: The Hoosiers have won five straight heading into Monday's game against Missouri, including a 17-point comeback against Charlotte. Jeff Newton emerged as the latest star on the squad with 13 points and 10 boards. Meanwhile, Mike Davis isn't getting any complaints from Kirk Haston coming off the bench. He scored 19 and had 11 boards in the win over the 49ers. Davis said he wanted a 20-point scorer off the bench and Haston is delivering. Davis isn't the first to try such a thing after Bill Self did it a year ago when his best scorer, David Shelton, came off the bench for Tulsa.
Better watch out
St. John's: The Red Storm sunk to under .500 with its loss to Hofstra on Saturday. The Red Storm has lost to Fordham, too. That's akin to UCLA's struggles in state against Cal State-Northridge, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. They might have decent programs, but the locals don't understand how the power in the region can get knocked off by the lesser known teams. Omar Cook's 28.8 percent 3-point shooting isn't helping.
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What's at stake
The Hoosiers' potential 11-3 record: Indiana hosts Missouri Monday and plays Kentucky in Louisville on Friday. Win those two and the Hoosiers will likely be set up for an improbable 11-3 record going into the Big Ten (and that's assuming they sweep their tournament at the end of the month).
Tubbs' revenge: Look for TCU to get nasty when it plays Princeton Monday. TCU got beat in New Jersey last year and Tubbs got tossed in the process. He loves revenge.
Stanford's status as a top-three team: Remember the Cardinal? They finally get back to playing this week, beginning Monday against Sacred Heart. Forward Justin Davis could return to the lineup after missing the start of the season with an abdominal strain. Georgia Tech could be next in the Stanford Invitational final.
Tito Maddox' debut: Fresno State's point guard, regarded as one of the top NBA prospects at his position, makes his long awaited debut Tuesday against Toledo. Maddox was suspended for the first eight games of the season for taking a plane ticket from a runner for an agent.
SMU's national credibility: The Mustangs' only loss so far has been at Tennessee, but they're the favorite in the San Juan Shootout Wednesday through Friday. SMU has to win the tournament, which features NIT-like teams in Nebraska, Kent, VCU and a possible NCAA team in Iona.
Alabama's top 25 stature: The Tide finally gets a tough game when it travels to the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic Wednesday through Friday. The Tide should meet Cincinnati, which has to get by Clemson, in the final. Alabama is in the same bracket as Washington.
Utah's consistency: The Utes finally broke through with a decent game against Washington State, although Chris Burgess was held scoreless. Playing at Pepperdine Tuesday should be a better gauge at where Dick Hunsaker has this team a few games before Rick Majerus returns to the bench.
John Chaney's sanity: The Owls, losers of six straight, lost two players when reserve guard Ron Blackshear said he's transferring over the weekend and forward Carlton Aaron threatened the same thing after being indefinitely suspended. Drawing Wake Forest Thursday at home isn't going to cure the latest ills.
An undefeated non-conference by either USC or Ole Miss: They could meet in the Pearl Harbor Classic semifinal Friday if Ole Miss can beat Southern Illinois and USC can get by BYU-Hawaii in the first round Thursday.
Iowa's mental toughness: It's only Kansas State, but for the first time this season, the undefeated Hawkeyes will play a true road game Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.
The Buckeyes' self-confidence: Ohio State has a chance to make a statement with a win over Kansas Saturday in Columbus. No one is expecting Ohio State to win. But if the Buckeyes do, the rest of the Big Ten could get nervous.
Bitter bragging rights in a Tark-Harrick rivalry: Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick don't like each other, dating back to the recruitment of the O'Bannon brothers between UNLV and UCLA. Georgia scheduled this game against Fresno State before Harrick got to Athens and he wanted no part of this trip to Fresno Saturday.
Watch the scores
Duke vs. Stanford, Thursday, Pete Newell Challenge, Oakland: The Cardinal have the big men to hang with Duke, but the matchup to watch is whether or not Mike McDonald has a shot of keeping Jason Williams in front of him. If Williams crushes McDonald at the point then Duke's potential foul problems up front won't be a factor against the Collins twins.
Charlotte at UTEP, Wednesday: This is more of a must win for the Miners. The undefeated Miners have won at Washington, Texas Tech and New Mexico State, but the 49ers are the first legit team at home for UTEP. Beat Charlotte and it could do wonders for the Miners' power rating come March. Charlotte has to learn how to finish a game after blowing a 17-point lead at Indiana Saturday.
LSU at Arizona, Wednesday: The Wildcats are ticked off after losing two straight on the road. They weren't happy with they way they were treated last year in Baton Rouge in a Tigers' rout. Expect this one to get ugly as the undefeated, but untested, Tigers go to Tucson.
Wyoming at South Carolina, Thursday: The Cowboys have to distinguish themselves nationally and beating the Gamecocks would go a long way toward some national respect.
Illinois vs. Missouri, St. Louis, Thursday: Illinois' schedule continues to be absurdly difficult with the latest test against the Tigers. But Missouri has to finish a brutal stretch against the Big Ten's 'I's with Indiana after the loss to Iowa.
Illinois at Texas, Saturday: Bill Self doesn't know who made this schedule, but the road show ends in Austin.
North Carolina at UCLA, Saturday: The Bruins crept above .500 with a win over UC Irvine, but still aren't clicking. They need to beat Carolina for confidence in themselves and for the fans in them in L.A.
Xavier at Toledo, Saturday: This is the type of game the Musketeers have to win after beating Cincinnati. Xavier took apart Marquette, but beating Toledo, on the road, would show that they can maximize the momentum after beating the Bearcats.
Wisconsin at Marquette, Saturday: Suspended forward Maurice Linton and backup guard Travon Davis make their return to the Badgers after serving an eight-game penalty for getting discounted sneakers at a Madison-area store.
Arkansas at Oklahoma, Saturday: The Sooners were humbled at Ole Miss and get a chance to redeem themselves in their latest marquee game against the Razorbacks.
What's working
Michigan: Finally a win. The Wolverines beat Bowling Green behind Josh Asselin's 18 and LaVell Blanchard's 28 to stop the bleeding of Maze and Blue.
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Top Five
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Rahim Lockhart, 6-8, Sr., Ole Miss: Lockhart scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a win over Southeast Louisiana. Lockhart is averaging 15.9 points and 10.5 boards for the undefeated Rebels.
Jason Capel, 6-8, Jr., North Carolina: Capel put up the second triple-double at Carolina in as many weeks when he scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 10 assists in a win over Buffalo Sunday. Capel is the best talker on the Tar Heels and he backed up pregame chatter about a bad practice with a great game.
Kevin Houston, 6-4, Sr., St. Bonaventure: Houston scored 32 points in a win over Siena last week to keep the Bonnies on track for a surging start into the Atlantic 10. Houston's 19.8 points and 7.9 rebounds lead the surprising 8-1 Bonnies.
David Bluthenthal, 6-7, Jr., USC: Another appearance for Bluthenthal in the top five after he scored 19 and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Trojans' tight win over Pepperdine. Bluthenthal's production is one of the main reasons the Trojans have remained undefeated with suspended guard Jeff Trepagnier on the bench.
Roy Boone, Wisconsin: The Badgers' shooting guard is making people forget Jon Bryant and Duany Duany with 15 points against UW-Milwaukee and 19 against Temple last week. The Badgers are 5-0 under Brad Soderberg and Boone is in part responsible offensively.
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Boston College: Xavier Singletary was supposed to be the star, not Troy Bell, last year. But Singletary is living up to his billing a year later after leading the Eagles to an undefeated start and a win over UMass on Sunday.
Minnesota: Once again, the Gophers have only one loss. Unbelievable.
Providence: The Friars were 6-3 after beating GW on the road, with Maris Laksa providing 18 points off the bench and point guard John Linehan scoring 15. The Friars are defending, shooting 3s and overall have confidence they didn't possess a year ago.
Rhode Island: Hey, at least they won two games last week over Yale and Northeastern.
Auburn: Who said the Tigers were down and out? We did after they lost to Mercer. But beating Oregon in Las Vegas seems to have given them new life even though they don't have Mack McGadney for the year.
Florida: Udonis Haslam scoring 27 points in a win over Gonzaga shows where the Gators' true go-to player resides.
BYU: Trent Whiting made his debut for the Cougars after transferring from Utah. He scored 22 points and hit 4 of 7 3s in a win over Utah State.
Clemson: Winning a game, even over Wofford, without suspended Will Solomon says something about the Tigers' depth this season.
Dayton: Dropped from the top 25, the Flyers won a must game at Saint Louis over the weekend.
Baylor: Chad Elsey made his debut after transferring from SMU with 20 points in a road win over Cal State-Fullerton for the undefeated, but untested Bears.
DePaul: Finally, a significant victory when Bobby Simmons scored 20 and grabbed nine boards in a win over St. Joe's on Sunday.
Villanova: The Wildcats quietly keep winning with a sweep of St. Joe's and La Salle over the week.
What needs fixing
Michigan State's 3-point shooting: Against Kentucky, the Spartans shot 14.3 percent on 3s in an ugly one-point win.
Miami without Elton Tyler: The Hurricanes were beaten by Nebraska as they wait to see if Tyler can get eligible for the second semester. Perry Clark doesn't have a chance to finish in the top half of the Big East without him.
Louisville: The Cardinals are waiting for word on Muhamed Lasege's court injunction. They need some sort of injection into their team after losing to South Alabama.
Oregon: The Ducks lost their first real test of the season when Auburn beat them in Las Vegas. The guard play hasn't been in question but the Ducks have to get better inside before the Pac-10.
Oregon State: This isn't football season and the Beavers are struggling after getting swept at Denver and Wyoming.
Officials at the Montana State-Nevada game: The Bobcats took 56 free throws in a win over Nevada last week. The victory avenged a 17-point loss to the Wolf Pack in Reno last month.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Watch, a look back at the week and a preview of the week ahead, runs every Monday.
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