Dame Good

Some facts, no matter how implausible they may seem, have a tendency to lie in the weeds for a while and remain unnoticed. For example, I bet you didn't know that the author of the groundbreaking book, "Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man" is the same man that possesses the ever-heartfelt, angelic voice that narrates those Pure Michigan commercials (Tim Allen). Even more incredible however is the fact that Notre Dame's basketball team, who is without a surefire first team All-Big East performer for the first time in recent memory, holds the ranking of the 9th best team in all the land. The Irish, who boast a team that is made up of mostly castoffs and role players from years prior, have rose from not even being mentioned in the "best of the rest" category in most polls to one of the top 10 teams in the country. And, at 17-4 and with the likes of DePaul, Rutgers, South Florida, Providence and Seton Hall all coming up within their next 7 games, the Irish have a foreseeable chance to sit atop the highest rated conference in the country when the season completes in early March.

But how are they doing it? With 3 white starters who at first glance look they belong in H&M promo ads more so than Notre Dame's Adidas sponsored unis, how have they possibly came out victorious against Wisco, G-Town, UCONN and Pitt? As the band Spoon once said in song, "if you got no fear of the underdog, you will not survive" (great jam) and ND has taken these lyrics literally in defending their home court all season long. Think about ND's best players. One is Ben Hansbrough. Now don't get me wrong, I hated Psycho T just as much as the next guy. The dude was a smarmy, smarmy nerd who got off to home vids of himself doing tricep extensions and then washed it all down with a Muscle Milk juice-box while watching Sports Science. But Benny boy, how can you not be impressed with what his college career has turned into? As an underclassman, he ran the point at Mississippi State University only to come to realize later that he was still in Starkville, a garbage city in a state that hadn't seen a relevant basketball game since Danny Manning graduated high school in Mississippi in 1984. Following Ben on the transfer trail was former Purdue swingman Scott Martin, who ditched the 75% male enrollment at Purdue to contribute for the Golden Domers in the newly renovated Joyce Center. Throw in an off guard whose last name sounds like a throat illness (Tim Abromaitis) and there you have it, the 9th best team in the country.

Mike Brey has one of the better haircuts amongst the coaching fraternity in college basketball, that's no secret. But this year, he's done an exceptional job coaching the talent allotted to him in South Bend and finds himself in the thick of the Big East race. If Notre Dame can somehow channel the confidence in which they play with at the Joyce and take that mentality on the road, the Irish could have a shot. For Tim Abromaitis, hopefully this time he doesn't get caught.

As for Pick of the Day, the thin air in Salt Lake along with Charlotte's thin bench led to the Bobcats demise against the spread last night as the Pulse Man added another notch on his (betting) belt. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes the Spurs giving 5 at the Rose Garden in Portland on the first of da month. Wake up, wake up, wake up.

Pick of the Day: Spurs (-5) @ Blazers- SPURS

Record:(51-35-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost