Final Four-play

As a jumping off point, let the record show that I know two Ivy league graduates: one, an uber-cute Cornell alumnus who apparently married into some heavy East Egg cash and is currently sipping lattes like they're streaming from the Britta filter. The other Ivy Leaguer, of course, is my main man, KB Toyz. It is Chicago Sports Noise's pleasure to have a highly accredited scholar from Columbia (a prestigious university that FDR, his distant cousin Teddy, and Warren "I'm richer than Jimmy" Buffett also attended) contribute to 'The Noise'. Needless to say, KB is already over-qualified to analyze the NCAA tournament based on his educational credentials. You would think he spent his 4 years of undergrad immersed in Oscar Wilde novels and delving deep into endless arithmetic reasoning. Instead, he serenaded the best schools in America with the sweet music of his 18-foot jumper as a member of Columbia's basketball squad and is now enjoying the fruits of being a professional athlete across the pond in England. Without further ado, here are is picks. Remember, "Beware the Ides of March." -William Shakespeare-

This is always the time of the year when the so called “experts” give
you supposedly sound advice on how to fill out your NCAA bracket. They
highlight “some possible upset” picks of which to look out for and you
inevitably start drinking their Kool Aid, only to be heartbroken when the
number 2 seed you picked to lose in the second round runs to the Final
4 (I know from experience dude). Instead of falling victim to that
snarky douche, Doug Gottlieb, make your picks on your own accord
people.

That being said I am now going to give you some general guidelines
that ought to help you during this process. The NBA is about talent
whereas college basketball is about coaching. If you are conflicted on
a pick, go with the more experienced coach. I would put my money on the
Izzo’s and Pitino’s of the world (in any enviornment other than Applebee's) rather than picking a lower seed to upset them. In fact, as a general guideline I would not bet against Tom Izzo in March (at least not in rounds 1 and 2).

BYU is not nearly as good as people want you to think they are. Don’t get me
wrong, I absolutely love Jimmer, but this team is a decaffeinated mess right
now. When it gets to crunch time, someone other then Jimmer is going to
have to make a big play and I just don’t see it happening.

In keeping with the Mountain West, SDSU is much more poised to make a
deep run into the tourney then BYU is. In fact, I have BYU on “upset
alert” in the first round against Wofford. Wofford has played some big
name competition tough over the past couple of years and their coach, Mike
Young, has been around the block and knows how to game plan for a guy
that can drop a cool 30 while looking like the kid who was the
perennial “Sportsmanship Award Winner” at basketball camp (See:
Stephen Curry)

It is all about the guards people. If you are struggling to make a
pick, take a look at the rosters and see which team appears to have the
better (and more experienced) guards. For instance, a team like Texas worries
me because aside from senior Jai Lucas, they have very little experience
in the backcourt. If I am a Kansas fan, I am also worried about their
guard play. When one of your starting guards is a struggling freshman
and the other was recently suspended, that does not exactly scream
FINAL 4. In terms of teams with solid guard play, I definitely like
Pittsburgh as they are old and Jamie Dixon is a veteran coach in
March. Missouri is also a team I like. Experienced guards AND a style
that most teams haven’t played against all year makes them poised to
make a deep run.

But, whatever you do, remember the "Butter Face" rule. You know when you
see a girl and everything is nice BUT her face? Yes, of course you do.
Well there are also Butter Face teams in this tournament.A Butter Face team is one that does a couple things really well but they don’t have that overall game
that we hope to see from a title contender. Notre Dame is a prime
example. They have tremendous outside shooting capability but their
inside game is like Egyptian Cotton. I would advise all of you to
handle any Butter Face teams in the bracket the same way you would
handle a Butter Face in real life. Be cordial, exchange some niceties,
but never allow yourself to get into a deep conversation. The same
holds true while filling out your brackets, if you see a Butter Face
team, I would suggest not letting them get any further than round 2. And
as a general rule of thumb, don’t let yourself go any further than
second base in real life. Unless you're Dan in Real Life.

Now, I am about to give you my “upset” picks. Remember what I told you,
when it comes to listening to others, follow the tried and true advice
of Stone Cold Steve Austin: “Don’t Trust Anyone.” That being said, here we go.
Utah State won 30 games this year and while I certainly haven’t seen them play, I did some research and they have a solid PG and a good inside game. I seem them giving Kansas State some trouble in the opening round; just don’t tell that to Frank Martin. Wofford over BYU as I alluded to earlier is another sleeper. I also like two Atlantic 10 teams Richmond and Xavier. Both have excellent point guards in Tu Holloway and Kevin Anderson and both teams can beat you in multiple ways. Other teams you might be sleeping on that can make a Final 4 run are as follows. Southwest: Purdue, they lock up and have flown below the radar all season. Have a great guard in E’twaun Moore and a jumping jack big man in Jajuan Johnson. Southeast: Wisconsin, one of the best guards in the tournament in Jordan Taylor and a balanced inside outside attack. Also, Bo Ryan.

My Final 4 picks: Ohio State, SDSU, Pitt and Purdue. I predict Ohio
State will beat Pitt in the ‘Chip 60-53. DTA people. DTA.

A very happy March Madness to all of you.

Rack me

KB.

A Chance to Dance

March Madness can mean a variety of things to a lot of different people. For some, it echoes opportunity. A chance for any idiot with a Bic ball-point and a PDF bracket to take down the office pool. It means half-days, sick days, made up family illnesses and an assortment of other excuses for the male contingent of America's workforce. The NCAA tournament is our country's most captivating sports spectacle. As Jay Bilas tweeted yesterday, "The NCAA tournament is idiot proof." There will always be upsets, Cinderellas and underused Gus Johnson soundboard websites. With all of that being said about this highly touted spring staple, does Illinois deserve to be in the field based on their body of work this season? In my own humble and entirely worthless opinion, no. As an Illinois fan, I'm almost ashamed that they did sneak in. Harvard probably has a better team with a quarter of the talent and Virginia Tech has now had their bubble popped for 4 consecutive years (that just sounds filthy). Illinois' "Big Dance" experience in 2011 brings me back to my own experiences cuttin' it up.

Now I was never in the NCAA tournament, or pirouetted across my middle school stage like Billy Elliot. But the more you think about it, the NCAA tournament selection process is strikingly similar to the Turnabout/Spring Fling/Winter Formal dance date selection process in most high school social circles.

I had some great dance dates in high school--but like everyone does--I had to wrap my arms around a few questionable characters and muster a morose smile at the customary picture party. If you had to cast a Hollywood C-Lister to capture my high school essence, it wouldn't be Paul Walker or Freddie Prinze, but I wasn't the nerd downloading calculator games in the C-lab with a USB cord either. I was a middle of the road guy; constantly toting the dotted stripe during dance season. My only hope was that I put together a decent enough body of work to keep myself in contention, and then hope that a few cases of high school infidelity and AIM break-ups would land me in the hands of a babe who could boost my stock. Relax, it's not superficial if it happened 5+ years ago. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

My freshman year was entirely forgettable. Based on my date, I didn't make the tourney, got snubbed by the NIT, snuck into the CBI and tried to hide my face enough so that nobody realized I was even there. Just for the record, there is no concrete evidence that this night actually happened; no pictures were taken on my behalf. So if you want to know who my date was, you either have to really shell out some coin, or somehow be friends with the female. As unlikely as the first of those two situations sounds, it still has the higher odds in comparison to the latter. Trust me. As for my sophomore year, tons of hype (high seed/cute crush) but very little substance. In her defense, I didn't know her that well so I was set up for a trap game (similar to a 12-5) and came up shorthanded. Junior year was a fun time, but our team chemistry kept us incapable of making a serious run at tournament immortality (Final 4/grinding to "Tip Drill" by Nelly). But 2006 is when the similarities between this year's Illinois team and myself truly blossomed into fruition...senior year.

Much like Illinois, I found myself on the brink of not being selected at all. I hadn't exactly stated my case as a prominent bachelor in the halls of my high school (no senior superlatives, no vanity license plate, average haircut, abysmal body, limited personality). Those sleepless nights in mid-February found me contemplating if I would ever get another shot to bust the people's brackets by busting a move during my senior campaign. Luckily, the fortune favors the foolish, and I somehow reeled in a more than formidable partner (who will remain nameless and faceless).

Like any NCAA tournament game, the dance is divided into 3 parts--preparation (pictures/dinner), gametime (dance), and post-game (after party). Similar to my brothers in Orange and Blue, I had no business being there with the date I had in hand, so I had to answer countless questions about my credibility in the tournament, i.e. "Why the hell did she ask you?" or "Doesn't she know that (some Mr. LZ candidate/bubble team) is still dateless?" In all honesty, I couldn't answer, and neither can Bruce Weber. They lost to 4 non-tournament teams in the regular season, including a UIC team that finished close to last in the Horizon league (equivalent to being caught passing wind in a core class with close seating proximity). And, like my physical appearance during 12th grade, Illinois' (9-9) record in the Big 10 was pretty average, which didn't turn many heads in the right direction. So, I put a smile on my face and was just happy to be there. I piled on the pomade, took in the sights and sounds, opened a few car doors and tried not to screw up.

In the end, my tightly-wound approach is what did me in, and the same will go for Illinois on Thursday. Not to say that I didn't enjoy myself, or that I don't have a 5x7 wallet pic of that night just in case if anyone ever asks if I was cool in high school--because I did, and I do. But I made no attempt at bringing down the house and just having a good time. I was so busy playing everything off and mean-mugging the dance chaperons that I couldn't thoroughly enjoy the experience I had at my disposal. If anybody is still reading this--and if you are I commend you--it surely wasn't easy, my lesson to Illinois is this: "play with a looseness like you've never been there before, because you don't know if you'll ever be back."

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man dropped his most recent bet, but what better time of the year than this to right the ship. For his next pick, the Pulse Man likes Richmond to cover the 2 point cushion they're getting against Vandy in the opening round. Everyone's afraid of spiders. Rich what?

Pick of the Day: #10 Richmond (+2) @ #7 Vanderbilt- RICHMOND

Record:(61-46-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Minute Made

If you had previously thought that Lincoln Park was just a place where your twenty-something friend lived with bars on every street corner and trendy restaurants that Groupon features on a daily basis, you have been misled somewhere along the way. Possibly some of the miscellaneous and mysterious debit card charges after 3 AM that take place when you visit LP may have contributed to this generalization, but who knows? In reality, some actual families do reside in Lincoln Park, a neighborhood of northern Chicago that is not to be confused with that garbage-eater rock band, Linkin Park, that was somehow immensely popular in the 7th grade. Northwestern PG, Michael "Juice" Thompson, happens to be one of those few proud residents who was once a Lincoln Park Lion. Upon his high school graduation, he broke the Chicago Public League mold and decided to take his basketball talents to that prestigious university along the lakefront.

Although Northwestern basketball hasn't exactly spelled s-u-c-c-e-s-s over the course of their 110 year history, the point guard named after the macerating of fresh fruits knew one thing--he could play early, and he could play often. As it turns out, that was exactly the situation. Upon his arrival in Evanston, coach Bill Carmody handed Juice the keys. Granted, the keys weren't necessarily handling a fully-equipped Lexus as much as they were a wheelchair with a tarnished purple and white flag hanging from its hind wheels. Nonetheless, he was in charge. He took the reigns of the program and has since become the school's 5th all time leading scorer and holds the NU records for assists, minutes, games played and games started. It is safe to say that the "Juice" is the most decorated guard in Northwestern history without ever playing in an NCAA tournament game or ever realistically vying for a Big 10 title.

What I will say about Thompson though is that he doesn't take breaks. Although his list of post season accolades at Northwestern is about as long as Oliver Twist's grocery list, he has always been there to take the fall. He has been in the top 10 in minutes played during all 4 years of competition in the Big 10, and has ranked as high as 2nd nationally. He hasn't come out to sip the kool-aid 10 different times this season. That's 10 games, 40 minutes a piece, without ever getting a blow.

The truth is, if you watch Northwestern play basketball you can't help but notice him. Never was that more apparent than Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis during the opening round of the Big 10 tournament. Facing elimination for an NCAA tourney bid at the hands of the ever-underachieving Minnesota Golden Gophers, Thompson exploded for a career-high and Big 10 tourney record 35 points to keep Northwestern alive for another day. What may be most impressive about Thompson though is the way that he puts it through the twine. His repertoire that features both 40-foot pull-ups and mid-lane teardrops is tough for even the bigger point guards in the nation's most physical league to defend. His use of the window from all angles also assures us of his Geometry prowess as a high school sophomore.

With Ohio State next on the tournament schedule, Northwestern's dream might melt faster than the February snow in this mid-March match-up, especially with the way Diebler, Sullinger and the boys have been "Party(ing) in the OSU.". Then again, the last time the Wildcats and Buckeyes faced off, it took an Alex "Ill-Advised" Mercotullio arid pass to crush the Cats' bid at an upset. But, don't be surprised if the Juice squeezes more out of March than the rest of the basketball world expects.

Before we get into Pick of the Day, a special Chicago Sports Noise shout goes out to my hero, Mark "The Big Detrimental" Blaker for impressively pulling off the persona of Steelers tight end, Heath Miller, on two separate occasions. Maybe it was the fact that he carried around the pigskin for the majority of the night and lobbed himself replica TD catches. Or, it may have been the fact that he was spewing Heath's fantasy stats to random passersby like he was a 4 time fantasy owner of the forgettable blocking specialist. Either way, it all culminated with him taking a late night picture posing as himself (Heath Miller) with 2 sizable Steelers fans at a local McDonalds. One up yourself Big Blake, you earned it.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man likes the Celtics to win by more than 2 in Philly on Friday night. It's St. Patrick's day after all, lets channel our inner Celtic Pride. Just another great movie performance by Shooter McGavin.

Pick of the Day: Celtics (-2) @ 76ers- CELTICS

Record:(61-46-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

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

Cleveland Rocks

Anybody who has seen a single episode of the Drew Carey Show has unfortunately heard the worst intro song in the history of sitcom television, and thus sat through at least a couple minutes of one of the worst TV shows created since M*A*S*H, or at least since SKIN made its debut last night on MTV. "Cleveland Rocks" is a complete lie. That's why the Browns moved to Baltimore, LeBron moved to Miami and everyone with a job moved out of Ohio, or at the very least, out of Cuyahoga County, even the Bone Thugs. But, there is often times a silver lining to the word Cleveland when added into someone's name. For example, Grover Cleveland is the only American President ever to serve two terms (22nd and 24th president), and still managed to accomplish absolutely nothing while in office. Kudos to you, Grover. Also, that spinoff, lisp-ridden foil character from Family Guy got his own show, which garnered worse ratings than The Nanny, and eventually collapsed before it ever really started. In the case of DePaul basketball, there is another young, promising Cleveland making waves in the Big East, and his name is Cleveland Melvin. However, much like the aforementioned people and places, DePaul basketball sucks.

It's safe to say that Oliver Purnell's plan at DePaul hasn't exactly "took off" in Rosemont, which is strikingly ironic considering how close the multi-purpose venue is to the O'Hare airport. In fact, the only time I have heard the word "Demon" mentioned recently came when a good friend of mine, whom we will call El Don, referred to his cabin mates on a Wisconsin ski trip as "sexy, little demons". But that is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that DePaul, although utterly atrocious and currently winless in the Big East, may still boast the Freshman of the Year in Baltimore native, Cleveland Melvin. "My favorite Melvin" is currently averaging 14.2 PPG on the year as a whole and has even managed to get even more buckets during DePaul's games in the best collegiate basketball conference in America (22.8 PPG in conference play). Melvin is also managing to pull down nearly 5 boards per game from the forward position and is somehow averaging below 1 helper per game (0.6 APG, 11 total on the season). Now that's DePaul basketball, low and behold.

Still, Cleveland's immense potential as a Freshman in the Big East can't go without being noticed. He's already dropped 29 on JT-triple sticks' G-town Hoyas and had his best game of the year (25 and 12) against Kemba Walker's UCONN Huskies. With DePaul going into the Bradley Center to face Marquette tonight, Melvin has a chance to make a Hamilton Porter-type splash in the Big East by knocking off an overachieving MU squad, ceremoniously kicking off this Chicago vs. Wisconsin week on the right foot. Remember, DePaul broke its "running the table in reverse" streak in the Big East against Marquette last year, thoroughly embarrassing the Golden Eagles. Will any of you watch this game? Eh, probably not. Hell, I'm not going to waste a perfectly good Tuesday night watching DePaul basketball. But, check the box score tomorrow and it might smell like Cleveland in the air, or maybe that's just the smell of unemployment.

As for Pick of the Day, in one of the most entertaining and spurt-heavy games I have ever witnessed, Pitt knocked off Syracuse at home by 8 (2 more than the spread), and gave the Orange, and the Pulse Man their 1st and 33rd losses of the season respectively. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes Illinois on the moneyline (-180) at home and coming off consecutive losses against Draymond "Trimspa" Green and Sparty. I-L-L.

Pick of the Day: Illinois (moneyline) vs. Michigan St.- ILLINOIS

Record:(46-33-0)

Don't forget to email your thoughts, opinions, predictions or lashings for this weekend's Packer/Bear game to chicagosportsnoise@gmail.com.

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Purple Reign

Rodney Dangerfield is remembered by many for his notable contributions to comedy and television. In Caddyshack, you look back on the outrageous outfits and jokes he used while portraying Al Czervik, and can't help but laugh. For the much less casual Dangerfield fan, his role as Chester in the 1992 cult classic, Ladybugs, is cherished as comedy in its purest form. Few people can argue the impact that Rodney had on comedy, but his impression on Northwestern's 2010-2011 Men's Basketball season is now starting to make its presence felt. Dangerfield's famous tag-line, "I gets no respect, I tell ya", has thoroughly encompassed NU's 8-0 start to the season so far. Sure, their SOS (strength of schedule, not the Rihanna song) is still pretty high at 189, but they play in the Big 10. Ingeniously, Bill Carmody figured out that chewing a tough non-conference plate when the Big 10 is already loaded is going to end up resulting in 5 losses and 4,000 empty seats in Welsh-Ryan Arena for the conference opener. Instead, Carmody installed a schedule with 'who-gives-a-shit games' like Texas-Pan Am (isn't that also the name of an airline?), Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Long Island, knowing all too well that his team would already have to face an ACC opponent (ACC/Big 10 challenge), and a solid mid-major program (Creighton). By doing this, Carmody also established the fact that nobody will have seen Northwestern play more than once on live television before the conference season starts, further promoting his team's false potential as legitimate conference contenders. Savvy.

Trust me, there is no way the Wildcats finish the season in the top 4 of the Big 10 standings, but that's not a discredit to NU. The Big 10 is deeper this year than the wave pool at Magic Waters. Michigan St., Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois will all make the tournament as at large bids based solely on talent and reputation, but Northwestern has to sneak in through the screened-in porch before the tourney committee realizes who they're letting in. Northwestern is still the only major conference school to NEVER (forever? forever-ever? forever-ever?) make the NCAA tournament. If Rodney Dangerfield's "I get no respect" is there team slogan, the opening lines of CCR's catchy single, "Lookin out My Backdoor" should serve as their University's NCAA tournament selection rallying cry. Just read the opening lines:

"Just got home from Illinois, locked the front door, oh boy,
I've got to sit down, take a rest on the porch,
Imagination sets in, pretty soon I'm singin',
Doo da doo da doo, lookin' out my backdoor." CCR

If Northwestern beats Steve Lavin's St. Johns team in MSG tonight, the Mild-cats only have to knock off "The Mount" (Mount St. Mary's. Admit it, you thought it was a volcano) and they roll into conference play undefeated. That's 11 wins and 0 losses rolling into West Lafayette to test their mettle against the Boilers. Northwestern is also keeping the scorekeepers busy as they are currently averaging 81.5 PPG, which is good enough for 1st in the Big Ten during non-conference play. Are they good enough to end the year first place in the Big 10? No. But they just might be good enough to fill a slot in the country's most celebrated bracket for the first time in school history. Stay tuned.

As for Pick of the Day, I know the Pulse Man already has a pick on the table from yesterday, but in the words of Ernie Banks he figures "Let's play two!". In the spirit of all things purple and white (except for Queen Lattifah), the Pulse Man likes NU getting 3 in the Garden tonight against St. John's. Let the 3's fall like rain...purple rain.

Pick of the Day: Northwestern (+3) @ St. Johns- NORTHWESTERN

Record:(41-28-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Up In Flames

Illinois usually schedules an early season non-conference game in the UC for a few reasons. Primarily, Bruce Weber likely finds it beneficial for his team to play in an NBA-style arena, like the United Center, in order to prepare them for the venues they might be traveling to in March (i.e. Big Ten tournament, NCAA tournament). Secondly, I'm sure Bruce also likes the opportunity to showcase his team to Chicagoland Fighting Illini alums. And lastly, Weber probably jumps at the chance to get out of central Illinois for a few days, and frankly, I don't really blame him. Ironically, Illinois has always played well in their annual Chicago trip. They beat Gonzaga at the Madhouse a year ago, and so far this season, Illinois looked to be cementing itself amongst the Big 10's elite. But Illinois found itself committing the cardinal sin in sports Saturday afternoon in the Second City--never, under any circumstances, underestimate your opponent.

Behind the stellar play of Robo Kreps, whose name sounds like either a knock-off brand of Turtle Wax or a slight deviation from pop sensation Bruno Mars, the Flames upset the Orange and Blue 57-54, marking Howard Moore's first signature win as the leader of the Flames. In Illinois' defense, the game was only being televised locally on WCIU,which is normally only good for reruns of Hanging With Mr. Cooper, and it was a Saturday matinee affair against a low-level division 1 opponent, so you can partially understand why the Illini weren't revved up like they just heard a superb rendition of William Wallace's Braveheart speech. But Illinois looked sluggish from the get-go. Their guards were getting ripped like voided checks, and UIC built an early lead and really 'never let go'. At least someone was listening to Jack Dawson's final words in Titanic. Surely losing to UIC on a neutral court will be judged as a bad loss for Weber's Wonderkin, but it might just be exactly what the Illini need to snap them back into reality.

Going into the annual Busch Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis Tuesday, Illinois wont have time to lick their wounds. Sharing the court with them Tuesday night will be the 10-1 Missouri Tigers, who is a team fresh off hanging 116 points on Scottie Pippen's alma mater. Mike Anderson's Mizzou squad is long and athletic, which is why they have become so successful playing the mid-90's Arkansas "40 Minutes of Hell" track meet-style of basketball. The Tigers are currently sitting in the 13 spot in the national polls, just one spot behind Champaign's finest. This 'Braggin' Rights' game has everything you could ask for in a good rivalry game--two wildly talented, evenly matched teams, a neutral site, and a sponsorship from a below-average beer. What is this Nascar? Regardless, Tuesday's game should be the first meaningful event to happen in Missouri since Mark Twain's departure from the 'Gateway to the West'. I just hope Illinois shows up.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man picked another winner Sunday as Matt Ryan's play propelled the Falcons over the Seahawks. For Monday night, the Pulse Man likes the under in the Bears/Vikes Monday night showdown which is set at 33.

Pick of the Day: Bears @ Vikings, total points-33-UNDER

Record:(41-27-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Silas but Deadly

You can do just about anything in Dekalb, Illinois and go unnoticed. You can rob a bank, run a meth lab, or dress like Lil' Kim at the 1999 VMA's, and no one will bat an eyelash. If you don't believe me, ask Cindy Crawford, Dekalb High School's valedictorian in 1984. Or, ask Jacob Haish and Joseph Glidden, the co-inventors of barbed wire. They could drastically alter the development of the American West, but they needed to leave the limits of Dekalb County to be accredited for their achievement. Sadly enough, it took a school shooting in 2010 for NIU to break into the national media, which caused Dekalb to become an even less desirable place to spend four years of your life. Apparently, you can add dropping 28.3 PPG to the list of things that go unnoticed in the city on the banks of the Kishwaukee River. After a highly successful football season in 2010, NIU basketball is now making a claim as a force in the MAC conference, and has a legitimate NCAA Divsion 1 scoring title threat in Austin, Texas native, Xavier Silas.

As a high school senior, Silas opted to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder. Like most of Chicago's college-bound suburbanites, Silas was desperate to be a Buff because of the fresh powder, thin air, and readily available herb, brah. Of course. And again, like most of Chicago's college-bound suburbanites, he was out of the Rocky Mountain State just one year later as Colorado once again became only a destination his imagination could transpire while listening to the hidden tracks on the John Denver Greatest Hits CD. But Silas found something different in Dekalb than the average undergrad, he found a place to score (no pun intended to NIU sororities). I'm not going to sit here and say that NIU is making a decent case for being the best team in Illinois. They lost to Northwestern, Bradley and DePaul already, and only beat UIC by a bucket on Tuesday. So I guess you could pencil them in as a few points better than Wash U in St. Louis (shout out ZK). But, what the Huskies do boast is perhaps the best flat-out scorer in the Land of Lincoln. You don't believe me right? I'll prove it.

The "Silas Assassin" has racked up 25, 22, 34, and 40 points against his in-state rivals so far this season. For you non-Math majors, that's just above 30 every time he laces up against the likes of an Illinois sanctioned University. Is John Shurna a better shooter? Probably. Is Demetri McCamey a better player? Without a doubt. Am I qualified to answer either of the aforementioned questions? Absolutely not. All I know is, numbers can't lie, and Silas' stats are impressive. 28.3 PPG, 56% FG, 50% 3PFG, 90% FT. The dude can play, and apparently has a cheezy smile. Now, will all these points cause me to drive an hour into the armpit of I-90 to see Xavier play in the NIU Convocation Center? Let's just say the last time I went to NIU, I was 18, and saw an O.A.R. concert--there's no way I'm going back.

As for Pick of the Day, the 49ers failed to muster double-digit points behind Alex Smith (does this guy seriously still start?). If I were Singletary, I would trade the former #1 draft pick for a special teams reserve and a $20 gift-card to Bennigans (now out of business). For the weekend, the Pulse Man likes the Falcons giving 7 points in the City of Rain to the Seattle Seahawks.

Pick of the Day: Falcons (-7) @ Seahawks- FALCONS

Record:(40-27-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Head of State

I know what you're thinking. "This guy didn't even watch the Illinois/UNC game! The 2nd half aired during the Victoria Secret Fashion Show." All I have to say to you people is, I have DVR (well, actually my parents do) and I don't have a day-job, so you can figure it out from there. While most of America watched intently as protein-deficient foreigners marched down a golden, glittery stage with giant feathers strapped to their backs, I was keeping a close eye on Illinois running all over a talented UNC team coached by Roy Williams.

Now, do I think UNC is overrated? Yes, they have been for the past 2 years prior to the thick of the college basketball season. For some reason the voters in the AP Poll think that North Carolina can consistently win with kids that can barely buy a pack of cigarettes or a MAXIM magazine for that matter. Harrison Barnes is a tremendous athlete and a phenomenal player, but he's not a first team All-American. I'm sure UNC will be back, but they're going to take there lumps again like they did a year ago. Still, what an impressive win for U of I in front of a sold out Assembly Hall. The Fighting Illini moved to 7-1 last night using a balanced attack that included Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, DJ Richardson, Demtri McCamey and Freshman Jereme Richmond all scoring in double figures for the Orange and Blue. Assembly Hall was back in 2005 form as well, as the Orange Krush looked more hopped up on Sunkist than a 12 year old at a sleepover screening Jurassic Park. Tuesday night was a statement win for both Illinois, and the Big 10 as a whole. But about 4 hours north of Champaign on the banks of Lake Michigan, 'Chicago's Big 10 team' was quietly going about improving to 5-0 while turning heads in the process.

When comparing Illinois and Northwestern basketball, a few things are glaringly obvious. Illinois players drink more booze, sleep with more women, fail more tests and frequent more strip joints than their Evanston counterpoints. But, that's not a discredit to Illinois, they are being compared with an ivy league-like school located in middle America. The only player on Northwestern's roster that I see hanging tough with the Illini on Green St. is Michael "Juice" Thompson, but even he can't cover 13 quotas, or 13 bar tabs, unless he's at Kams. Illinois is more talented in almost every area of the game, but Northwestern is a heady, veteran club that wears down your psyche with backdoor layups and transition 3's. The Purple and White might not scare you coming off their coach bus, but they will have a viable shot to play themselves into the school's first ever NCAA tournament birth during the 2010-2011 season.

For both Illinois and Northwestern, success starts in the hands of each team's point guard. NU's point guard is affectionately referred to as a fruity liquid made from concentrate while Illinois' PG has a last name that leads you to believe he was born on the kitchen floor of the Blarney Stone on Chicago's South Side. Call them what you will, but both Juice Thompson and Demetri McCamey facilitate the as game as well as any point in the Big 10. Both guards were in the top 4 in assists and assist/TO ratio during Big 10 play a year ago and are heading into their senior season determined to end up on CBS with Gus Johnson during March in the NCAA's Naitonal Tournament. Illinois and Northwestern will only go as far as their floor-generals will take them, and Bruce Weber and Bill Carmody have to be confident in the places they'll go behind Thompson and McCamey.

One of the only areas in which I think Northwestern trumps Illinois is the ability to have a consistent "knock-down" shooter to propel the offense. The Cats boast the most unlikely of potential All-Americans in Glen Ellyn's own, John Shurna. At first glance, you would swear that Shurna was the kid who sat behind you in 10th grade Geometry that you peppered with questions the day before each unit test. But over the course of 2 years in Evanston, Shurna has made a case for himself as one of the most dangerous long-distance dialers in Big-10 play, averaging over 18 points a game a year ago and shooting over 35% from 3 point range. Illinois on the other hand, looks to stretch their defense with their Sophomore guard duo of DJ Richardson and former Warren standout and Illinois Mr. Basketball, Brandon Paul. Although Richardson is coming off a Big-10 Freshman of the year campaign in 09-10, I think Shurna is more of a consistent threat for his team, mainly because he looks like an extra from Revenge of the Nerds and the scoring presence Illinois holds in the low post.

On the block, Mike Tisdale might resemble a chimpanzee released from the Brookfield Zoo, but it is hard to argue against how effective he has become under the tutelage of Bruce Weber. However, Illinois fans need to understand what they can expect from Tisdale on a nightly basis. He will give you 12-15 points a night, a half-dozen rebounds, and will most likely foul out--that's the way it goes. He isn't athletic enough to guard the quick-footed post men of the Big-10 like Draymond Green and Jajuan Johnson, so he over-relies on his 7 foot frame and uses his fouls. You cannot expect Tisdale to be an All-American. He's a 7 foot 1, 250 lb, Academic All-American from Riverton, Illinois, let's be realistic. Is he better than Luka Mirkovic? Absolutely. Is your college girlfriend better than Luka Mirkovic? If she was graded higher than a C in high school P.E., then I would assume so. Don't get me wrong, Mirkovic has done a fine job with his pipe-cleaner arms and a haircut he stole from an investment banker at the Board of Trade, but the Big-10 boasts too many solid big men that Luka (not the guy that used to be on ER) is going to have to defend on the block.

Outside of the staple categories like backcourt and frontline lies the intangible category that just might be the most influential in determining the success of both Illinois and Northwestern this year, ladies and gentleman, low and behold, the honorary "good glue guy" (shout out Matt Demars). Both the Illini and Wildcats have the "get the job done then spit in your face" Cortland Finnegan-type player. For the Illini, it's Jereme Richmond. Jimmy Dykes referred to him in last night's telecast as a type of guy who, "throws you into the lockers and takes your lunch money" and for the first time in both mine and Jimmy Dykes life, we agree on that. Richmond is a relentless athlete, a long, rangy defender, and an overall catalyst for Illinois success. Sure, he's going to jack up a few ill-advised, unwarranted 19-footers in pivotal moments, that's part of being a Freshman. But the Mr. Socko Mick Foley-esque toughness he carries on his sleeve is going to exude more pros than cons for this year's Illinois squad. For Northwestern, the good glue lies in it's swingman, Drew Crawford. The Naperville product is the son of long-time NBA official, Danny Crawford, so you already know that Drew was born with the thick skin to withstand the raucous rants from student sections he'll surely hear across the Big-10. He is a secondary scorer for NU, but his true presence is on the defensive with his tenacity and intensity. Think Sean Elliot/Charles Oakley hybrid human. God damn do I support stem cell research.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man skated by the skin of his teeth last night as Wake defeated the lowly Iowa Hawkeyes by a meager 3 points in the final minute, thus covering the 2 point spread. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes the Bulls giving 2 points to the magic at home, a risky call. Because of the Pulse Man's recent betting record, I have received a tremendous amount of inquiry via telephone, fax, email and snail mail about what the Pulse Man actually looks like. To avoid giving him a reputation like "Son of Sam" or the "Unibomber", I have posted a picture of the Pulse Man in his finest hour. Eat your heart out girls.



Pick of the Day: Magic @ Bulls (-2)- BULLS

Record:(36-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Sub-Hub

From Huntley to Berwyn and back though the heart of the city, the suburbs of Chicago produce more D1 college basketball talent on a yearly basis than many of its surrounding states combined, and this year is no different. These indigenous prep stars hailing from the Land of Lincoln all devour Malnati's slices and Portillo's cake shakes on trips home to visit their p's and empty their mother's household TIDE inventory like every other college kid hailing from the metropolitan area of the United States' 3rd largest city, but the difference is--these kids lace up the Nike's for D1 basketball programs throughout the country, giving us proud Flatlanders a chance to proudly proclaim, "I played against that dude in high school" whenever you're eyeing a Big Monday telecast looking over your notes for next week's microbiology test (took that claas twice, so this scenario happened quite often). Although it is nearly impossible to account for all the players on the various stages of the vast, college basketball landscape, this blog's service is to do justice to the athletes who skimmed the Daily Herald SportsExtra section each Friday, eagerly awaiting a name drop from PBM (Patricia Babcock-McGraw) or Joe Aguilar.

The Ivy League- Kevin Bulger, who formerly starred at Columbia and Glenbrook South, and once Ivy League Freshman POY Chris Wroblewski, who roamed the halls of Highland Park before "taking his talents to Ithaca" and helping the Big Red march to the sweet 16 a year ago. The Penn Quakers and the Palestra call 3 suburban products their own in Rob 'you should be glad I even referenced you with this haircut" Belcore (Loyola), Danny Monckton (Glenbrook South) and the next Croatian sensation in Marin Kukoc (Highland Park). Brown's Bears also boast Tyler Ponticelli from suburban power Glenbrook North on their front line. And lastly, Yale's campus was home to both Geroge H.W. and George W. Bush respectively, but is now the land in which Mundelein grad Raffi Mantilla cruises campus on a moped with a few cold ones in a plastic bag secured firmly to the handlebars.

The Big 10- Since Cully Payne isn't a real suburban since he transferred from Burlington Central (damn foreign imports) and now plays at at Iowa, I'm not going to give him the recognition he thinks he deserves. But, Illinois guard Brandon Paul (Warren), Michigan swingmen Matt Vogrich (Lake Forest) and Josh Bartelstein (Highland Park), along with Northwestern standout and former IHSA dunk contest champ John Shurna (Glenbard West) are all going to get some blog love. Sorry Cully, maybe if you're name didn't sound like the title of a movie featuring Damon Wayans, things would've been different. Northwestern guards Jeff Ryan (Glenbrook South) and Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) are going to look to get the Wildcats into the tourney for the first time since the Great Depression as we near what I like to call "the grand Recession". Look for Big 10 newcomers Ben Brust (Mundelein) and Duje Dukan (Deerfield) to get their feet wet in the fertile basketball soil of the Big 10, and watch for Jereme Richmond (Waukegan) and Lenzelle Smith (Zion-Benton) to cement themselves as two of the conference's flashiest fresh faces since the league expanded to an 'illiterate dozen' (11 teams) in 1990.

With Jon Scheyer gone and graduated from Duke, the ACC doesn't boast many representatives from the tri-county area in Chicagoland's Northwest region. But, the Big East holds right to Notre Dame's Luke Harangody stunt double, Jack Cooley (Glenbrook South). Out West, the Cal Bears have New Trier grad, Alex Rossi's name in their registry and the Oregon Ducks and their sick, new, forest floor have the rights to Oregon big man, Joevan Catron.

It's safe to say that Illinois was well-represented across the country last year on USA Today's All-American Squad that featured native Illinoisans Evan Turner (St. Joes), Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North), Sherron Collins (Crane), Jerome Randle (Hales) and Jacob Pullen (Proviso East). How Illinois, DePaul and Northwestern aren't sweet 16 mainstays every year, I can't figure out. But during the month of November, Illinois basketball fans have a lot to be thankful for besides the fast approaching holiday of Black Wednesday.

As for Pick of the Day, it's still BJ3 and the Bucks giving 5 to the Knicks in the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. If you don't own residency to the state of Wisconsin, thus a subscription to FSwisconsin (possibly the worst channel I've ever encountered) or have NBA full court, you're going to have to wait for SportsCenter to validate the Pulse Man's results.

Pick of the Day: Knicks @ Bucks (-4.5)- BUCKS (-105)

Record:(29-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Big 10 Basketball Preview

Big 10 basketball is the wool sweater that comforts the American Midwest during these dogged winter months. Whenever you are feeling demoralized driving home from work in the pitch black because of daylight savings, Dave Revsine has something to analyze on the Big Ten Network that keeps you away from instantly indulging in a gulp of Nyquil and heading upstairs to rest up for another riveting workday trapped in the ever-closing walls of an office cubicle. In a constantly changing college basketball landscape filled with "one-and-done" players and 17 team conferences, the Big 10 remains more pure than Deja Blue. Basketball hotbeds like Illinois and Indiana, Detroit and Ohio, all send their native sons to battle in Big 10 Arenas from 'The Barn' to the Breslin Center. This year, however, may even be more exciting than most. With 5 teams in the USA Today Coaches Poll top 25, and with Minnesota receiving votes like a sophomore homecoming court candidate, this could definitely be an excitement filled 2011 campaign. While the Big 10 is often praised for its parity every year, the only way I am going to mention Iowa, Penn St., Indiana and Michigan this year is by way of a parody (of course, no pun intended). But with both Illinois Big 10 teams relevant, and Michigan St., Ohio St., Purdue and Wisconsin all boasting formidable squads this winter, a preview is definitely in order this season. I'm just a little upset Steve "the straw that stirs the drink" Lavin won't be around this year to analyze it.

Illinois- As I outlined in the Illinois preview blog a while back, the Illini have a lot to look forward to in 2011. With the highest preseason ranking since their magical run to the national title game in 2005, the citizens of Champaign may have the possibility of poppin' some Champagne in their near future. Led by Seniors Demitri McCamey and Mike Tisdale, Illinois has better "starters" than your neighborhood Applebees. If Bruce Weber can coddle freshman phenom Jereme Richmond and infiltrate him into the already potent lineup of returners, Illinois can put up points with the conferences elite. But, when 'if' and 'Bruce Weber' are used consecutively in a sentence, the result isn't always good.

Northwestern-In the Chicago sports scene, only one team boasts an equally embarrassing streak to the Chicago Cubs World Series-less century, and that streak lies in the Wildcats inability a ever receive an invite to the "Big Dance." Northwestern's futility has stretched far and wide--they haven't finished above 4th place since Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were running the show in WWII. Nonetheless, Northwestern calls one of the league's most unorthodox yet effective scorers their own in John Shurna, and have a 4 year starter running the point in Michael "Juice" Thompson. However, with many people betting on this to be the year the purple and white play into deep March, I don't feel so sure. With their star forward Kevin Coble opting to stay off the team in favor of his pursuit for his diploma (I think you can see clearly here where NU's problem lies), the "Mild-cats" don't have enough firepower to win the conference games necessary in the Big 10 to secure an at-large bid. Also, I think fans in the state of Illinois have rescinded their trust in believing in a team leader referred to as "Juice". Is he really worth the squeeze?

Purdue- The Baby Boilers aren't so young anymore, as most of the freshman crop that put West Lafayette on the map (I have no idea where it is still) a few years back are now nearing the end of their college careers. With Chris Kramer gone living the highly regarded D-League lifestyle with the NBDL's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, consistently perusing the isles of Super K-Mart seeking blue-light specials like Octomom, Purdue is absent of their senior leader from a year ago. And with All-America shoe-in Robbie Hummel sidelined for the year with a torn-up knee, Purdue and the Paint Crew's expectations have simmered since the preseason. But with E'Twaun Moore and Jajuan Johnson now quarterbacking the squad under the coaching of Matt Painter, Purdue might just overachieve and Boiler up to the top of the Big 10 standings.

Wisconsin- In being the only team I've seen live thus far this season (they exhibitioned my former squad, the UW-LaCrosse Eagles on Saturday in Madison. Don't worry, the Eagles covered), I don't feel comfortable crowning the Badgers with the conferences elite. Maybe I just don't like the Badgers, but Mike Bruesewitz is on the cusp of becoming the most annoying player in the NCAA since Psycho T ruled the streets of Chapel Hill. They have seemingly the same personnel, the same uniforms, and the same record every year. The monotony associated with Bo Ryan and Wisconsin basketball wears me out like a YMCA elliptical machine. Now am I going to bet against the Badgers at home? No, I'd have a better shot at covering a "culture prop" that the premise of the movie 2012 is actually going to become reality. I just hope those liberals in Madtown don't start a forest fire "flicking their Bics" when they realize that the Badgers are again a first weekend casualty of the NCAA tourney in March, they should be used to it by now.

Michigan St.- Is Michigan St. overrated this year under Izzo? Izz-no. Ok, that may have been the corniest thing I've ever said on the internet, but it's the truth. Izzo consistently has Sparty competing for a Big 10 title on a yearly basis, and was rewarded this summer with a courtship from the Cleveland Cavaliers that reeked of desperation. In coming off a Final Four season, MSU returns conference POY front-runner Kalin Lucas, forward Draymond Green and Sr. guard Durrel Summers. Michigan St. is deep. Maybe even too deep. Still, if you want my pick for conference champ, I'd have to "go green" and stick with Sparty.

Ohio St.- If anyone has a better roster on paper than the boys from East Lansing, it's Thad Motta and his tOSU program that he has converted into a national power. In losing Evan Turner, the Bucks are stripped of the league's most versatile player, but the other 4 starters from last year's Big 10 conference tourney champs are still on the Columbus, OH campus, including Center Dallas "The African Cowboy" Lauderdale and Sr. guard, Jon Diebler. If the Buckeyes end up walking away with the Big 10 football crown this fall and somehow cut down the nets as Big 10 conference champs this winter, I'm going to lose my mind. But I guess Ohio needs it, the Cavs suck and Peyton Hillis is the Browns' best player (he looks like a guy you'd meet doing tricep extensions at the Y) , Major League couldn't have picked a more tortured sports city, if only Jake Taylor was a real person.

Prediction:
Michigan St.
Illinois
Ohio St./Purdue-tie
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Northwestern
Michigan
Penn St.
Indiana
Iowa

As for pick of the day, the Pulse Man was blanked in another Saturday 6 pack and is reeling in a quarter-life crisis. It's clear that the elementary aged kids he's spending 6 hours a day with (he's a teacher, don't get weird) are rubbing off on his betting strategies and eating habits. He once admitted that "he only eats once a day on the weekends." Desperately trying to find salvation in the NBA's Eastern Conference, the Pulse Man likes the Bucks giving 4.5 to the Knicks tomorrow night at the Bradley Center.

Pick of the Day: Knicks @ Bucks (-4.5)- BUCKS (-105)

Record:(29-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Buzz-Word

For some reason, when I think of Marquette Basketball, I think of a 5'9'', nappy-headed electrical engineering major who didn't even strap up his Nikes once for a single varsity basketball game. Maybe it's because that one person has a profound love for a college basketball team that is so deep, he doesn't care that they have the same color scheme (light blue/yellow) as a newborn infant's bedroom. It really doesn't bother him that nobody outside the city limits of Milwaukee knows one player on Marquette's team by name--he knows all of their social security numbers and D.O.B's. It didn't feel right to do an Illinois season preview and not give Ryan Agnew and his beloved Marquette Golden Eagles a voice promoting another season of mediocrity in the Bradley Center. As a Marquette alum, "Rags" has been seen watching every single MU game for the better part of his 24 year existence on the Earth, and was also often spotted carrying Jerel McNeal's books to class when the two both called Marquette's campus their home in 2007. And hey, let's be honest, they lost to DePaul last year, so I felt kind of bad for him. Anyway, here it is. All of you Golden Eagle football/basketball fans go nuts (crickets).

This is my second “guest post” for Austin Scott. I figured I owed it to all the people who voted for me in the poll for who you most wanted to write a guest post – yes, I voted for myself…multiple times.

The Marquette basketball team is coming off a roller coaster ride of a season in 2009-2010. A team which won 11 of their final 13 games in Big East play – which included two buzzer beaters by Jimmy Butler and an upset over 45 year old Scottie Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats to advance to the semi finals of the Big East Tourney.

MU loses 3 seniors from a year ago in Maurice Acker (not to be confused with the late He Ping Ping- shortest man in the world), David Cubillan and Lazar Hayward. Lazar was hands down the heart and soul of the team last year, and easily one of my favorite players in Marquette basketball history. He was the last pick in the 1st round (Wizards, traded to T-Wolves) of the 2010 draft and scored his first NBA points just a few nights ago, an occasion for which him and John Flynn went out to slam a couple of Camo-Ice 40 ouncers and hit on some underage Minneapolis coeds.

MU is slated to finish 11th by the “experts” from ESPN, and is picked to finish 6th in the BE coaches poll. With that being said, Marquette Basketball is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Big East..."they gets no respect". I think part of that is because Marquette will be expecting some of their newcomers to contribute right away and although that isn’t necessarily ideal for a Big East team, Marquette has a lot of new faces in the locker room and there is a lot to be excited about (not much really goes on in Milwaukee).

Freshman guard Vander Blue is the highest recruit MU has landed in the past 30 years…and made for quite the stir when he rescinded his verbal commitment to UW-Madison to play for a coach who doesn’t look like their mascot. Blue is very athletic and works very hard on the defensive end of the floor. His offense still needs work, but he assures us on Twitter that he is working on every day to get better. If nothing else, his last name should result in the Bradley Center music coordinator to blast the Eiffel 65 hit "I'm Blue (Da-ba-dee-da-ba-die)" at least 60 times this season, which is a plus.

Another exciting guard with stupid athletic ability is Reggie Smith. As the bums outside the Wells Fargo building in downtown Milwaukee would say, "Diss dude got boom/bounce/ups/hops/rise/etc./etc." He is a great change of pace guard, and will provide a spark as probably the 2nd or third man off the bench for Buzz Williams.

However, Jae Crowder is my pick-to-click as far as team impact goes. I think he will start every game for MU this season. The 6’6” 2010 JUCO player of the year can shoot from the outside and has the ability to finish in the painted area. Also, he will have the opportunity to score quite a bit as teams will be focusing on Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler like one of those optical illusion mind-trick pictures.

Davantae Gardner rounds out their newcomers as the team's freshman center – er project. He tipped the scales at about 310 his junior year in high school, but has been working hard and now is more comparable to an overweight Kevin Callaghan, circa 2007, living large on a steady diet of Chicago style hot dogs and Old Style. His body transformation makes you wonder if he spent the summer at Camp Hope with Tony Perkis and Gerald Garnder shedding lb.'s and strapping beef sticks to his back. Either way, I'm hoping all of the perkisizing has paid off. Look for him to get some meaningful minutes early in the season, but will most likely see his playing time and diet fade as the season wears on. He has great hands and soft touch for a big guy, and hopefully can make a splash as a sophomore, or transfer to a school where he can get some NFL looks on the O-line.

Jamail Jones is another 6’-6” “interchangeable” guard in Buzz Williams' (who ironically cannot grow out a "buzz-cut") offense. I love his athleticism and he’s not afraid to battle down low with a bigger player.

Marquette returns 3 guards who can flat out play. Junior Cadougan is fully recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon last season and has looked great in preseason workouts (not like I have access to those or anything, but I do have the internet, and an excess of free time). He is a terrific point guard who knows how to run the offense and really uses his body to abuse smaller defenders, and female MU undergrads. Dwight Byucks is a scorer with likely the worst name in the Big East. However, he has a tendency to turn the ball over, and Buzz values possessions like Chris Fehrenbach values a Chicken Queso. DJO (Darius Johnson-Odom) has the most “star power” on the team and provides MU with college basketball's next hyphenated superstar since Chris Douglas Roberts' departure from Memphis. This left handed guard is perhaps the most athletic player on the team and can absolutely light it up from beyond the arc. He will need to be more assertive on the offensive side of the ball this season, and there will be plenty of available shots for him.

Marquette also returns 4 players in the front court. Jimmy Butler was a “good glue guy" (shout to to Mat Demars) while we had the 3 amigos (Mcneal, James, Wes Matt) but has since evolved into a go-to guy for Buzz Lightyear. Butler is a crafty player and is the senior leader of the Golden Eagles this year. Chris Otule (Oh-tool-ay), trust me, he's not Irish, will be the wild card this year. He has been slowed the past two seasons by injury but it seems he is finally healthy. Marquette will need him to play big minutes this year and help out on the offensive and defensive boards. Joe Fulce in another returning player and is easily my least favorite player on the team. He does have the ability to provide a spark off the bench and since he’s a senior, I think Buzz will go to him more often this year. Erik Williams is the dark horse. He seems to have improved every time he hits the floor. Defensively he just was not there last year and that cut into his playing time – or lack thereof. Any minutes he can give this year will do wonders for the team down the road. With all this being said, if you need to find me during the winter months, I will be happily rocking the best shorts in college basketball today as I post up on my couch to watch MU, or you can find me at www.twitter.com/RyanAgnew3

Projections
Starting Lineup
PG – Junior Cadougan So.
SG – Darius Johnson Odom Jr.
SF – Jimmy Butler Sr.
PF – Jae Crowder Jr.
C – Chris Otule So.

Regular Season: 21-10
Big East: 11-7

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man likes Cliff Lee and the Rangers to hold off playoff elimination tonight in Texas at (-174).I know those are not the best odds, but this game is virtually a lock. Dominant pitcher/at home/facing elimination combo is deadly. Trust the Pulse Man.

Pick of the Day: Giants @ Rangers- RANGERS (-174)

Record:(27-21-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Ryan Agnew

Sweet and Sour Sixteen

There a few moments in life that prompt a "LET'S GO!" (shot-out Matt Meyers) moment and instantly rejuvenate you to perform the task at hand with added vigor. Perhaps hearing the sounds of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" blasting through the blown-out speakers of your mid-level sedan may add some elation to your usual lifeless commute home. Maybe you sting a 3 iron from 190 after chili-dipping your tee shot and give yourself a shot at saving par and making some greenbacks off your visor-clad, cholo golf partner. Or, maybe you just found out that your state University who returns five starters and signed their first McDonalds All-American since Dance Dance Revolution was invented in '03 is ranked #16 in the first preseason polls for college basketball. LETS GO! Yes, Illinois has become relevant again. Hopefully those long Wednesday nights of watching the Illini get run over by Dayton in the second round of the NIT are over--at least for this year.

The Chief and Co. return all 5 starters from a team that was as sporadic as a seismograph in 2010. They lost to Bradley early on, then rebounded to steal a win @ Clemson in the ACC/Big 10 challenge to maintain a formidable start. Then, the Fighting Illini dropped their last 3 of the regular season, only to rebounded to beat Wisco in the Big Ten Tourney quarterfinals and came within a regulation layup of downing Evan Turner and the tOSU in the semis, leaving them outside of the 65 team NCAA tournament field and in the NIT, which attracts less of an audience than the Andy Griffith show on Nick at Nite. Following Illinois basketball last year was like waiting for a public defense lawyer--you never knew who the hell was showing up, and in the end, it didn't work out that well. This year though, Assembly Hall is loaded with talent. DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul are unidentifiable on the court as they were basically xerox copies of each other--fast, energizing and athletic. But more so than anything else, both players were inconsistent as Freshman. With added experience headed into their Sophomore campaign, hopefully DJ and and BP can feed off the playmaking ability of Senior Demitri McCamey, who became arguably the Big 10's most complete player with the exception of his high school teammate, Evan Turner and his marshan voicebox. At 6'3'', 200 lbs., McCamey is the size of a refrigerator but can heat it up faster than Jamar Smith in his old "microwave" days before he started playing too much Cruisin USA while blacked-out in his dorm and thought he could replicate the scenario in real life.

In the frontcourt, Illinois returns Mike Davis, who interestingly enough attended the same high school (T.C Williams) where Remember the Titans was filmed (I don't really care for Mike Davis' game, so we'll leave it at that). In other news,my personal favorite member of U of I's basketball team also returns, Mike Tisdale. At first glance, you would think that Tisdale is just a scrawny, agriculture major you'd want to recruit for intimidation in the paint for your C-League intramural squad. But Mike uses the window better than a chic interior designer devising the floor plan for a family room and is the proud owner of a soft, feathery touch that would make the Charmin bear blush. As far as core players go, Illinois definitely has the pieces to make a run at the Big 10 title.

The wild card however, is Freshman All-American Jereme Richmond. Hailing from the ultimate sewer of Lake County (Waukegan), Richmond is one of the biggest recruits Bruce Weber has ever tied down in his tenure in Champaign. But in this case, talent comes in the most volatile of packages. There is no doubt Richmond is talented, but there is even less doubt in his own self-confidence. Jereme is an athletic freak who can change the momentum of the game with a highlight reel alley oop or a pin-block that trickles back to the halfcourt stripe. If you haven't seen Richmond play, this video is all you need to see (1:21 pause). However, Richmond is also the guy who used to kiss the floor before high school games and walked around with the same swagger Vinny Barbarino displayed in Welcome Back, Kotter. Getting him to be comfortable in a reserve role with 5 starters returning could be like fitting a 12 year old into a carseat, lots of squirming and immaturity can ensue at any point. With that being said, Illinois is lucky to have gotten the last two Illinois Mr. Basketball award winners as Bruce must strike a chord with the resident 'basketball wives' of Lake County. Throw in Luther Head's younger brother, Crandall, as a lucky, rabbit's foot like legacy on the 2011 squad and Illinois has all bases covered.

Still, U of I finds itself ranked #16 overall, which is great in its own right, but that ranking still trails conference foes Michigan St.(#2), Ohio State (#5) and the now Robbie Hummel-less Purdue Boilermakers (#8). Often times people say that the only thing less important than your preseason ranking is the score at halftime, and maybe the attractiveness of your undergrads (as evidenced by Duke and Butler last year), which definitely has the tendency to hold true. But Illinois has to deal with each of the aforementioned teams twice in the conference season after dealing with perennial power UNC (#9) in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, a date in the dry-land with Texas (#25), and a highly anticipated and always intense border battle with Missouri (#15). There's a warhead in every goodie-bag, and Illinois strength of schedule could sway the Illini back atop the nation's elite in 2011, or plummet them back to the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl (Bowling Green vs. Idaho last year) of college basketball--the NIT.

As for Pick of the Day, hopefully the weekend brings the Pulse Man some solace as he makes the trek down to Charleston, Illinois to visit his proud alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Before departing, he left me with his Saturday 6 pack and drove himself back to a land where mercilessly making passes at younger girls wasn't going to have to cost him a $7 cover charge. Anyway, here are his picks:

Saturday 6 Pack:

2 Team Parlay:

1. Duke (+27) @ Virginia Tech- DUKE
2. Maryland @ Boston College, Total Points 41.5- UNDER
Total: (+273)

3 Team Parlay:
1. Nebraska @ Oklahoma St. (+6)-OKLAHOMA STATE
2. Wisconsin @ Iowa, Total Points 47.5- UNDER
3. LSU @ Auburn- AUBURN, moneyline
Total:(+435)

'Big Ticket' Pick of the Day:
Marshall @ East Carolina (-12.5)- EAST CAROLINA

Now I'm done. Rack Me

Frost

Street-wise

It's the third Friday in October, and for that reason, most Chicago sports fans are presumably thinking about how Illinois managed to recruit an African American quarterback with the last name Scheelhasse (sounds like a member of the Gestapo), why Northwestern lacrosse players aren't half as lewd as Duke lacrosse players, and how is it that the Texas Rangers can have a skipper who got caught with coke yet they make it to the LCS and neither Chi-town club can sniff (no pun intended) an October baseball game. While all those were interesting story lines sometime this fall, the first cool breeze of October may remind us of a few things: it's not windbreaker weather anymore (put away your track jackets Pulse Man), and college basketball season is lurking in the near future. During these next few days in mid-October is generally when teams begin to participate in organized practice. What a great time of year--3 hours in Assembly Hall listening to Bruce Webers strangled voice..ehh, not for me. A little pre-season trash talk between the new coaches from Chi-State and UIC..ok, let's get this thing going.

Normally, I would reference the point that both Chicago St. and UIC are meaningless programs to me. Neither school has been relevant since pogs and beanie babies controlled my life in the mid 90's and Chicago St. making fun of UIC is like Creed calling Nickelback lame or Snooki telling Jessica Simpson to "go read a book". But, with 3 of the 4 city slickers (DePaul, UIC, Chicago St./ No Loyola) under new winter management, I suppose we can entertain the idea that a rivalry could be a good thing and a little bad blood is just what the doctor ordered (once again, no pun intended).

Chicago St.'s new coach, Tracy Dildy was once a player at UIC himself and then went on to be an assistant coach for the Flames for a few seasons. However, somewhere during his "educational career" someone forget to explain the theory of logical rationale to T. Diddy. He recently made the brash presumption that "UIC is scared to play Chicago St." and that is why they took the mighty green Cougars who were perennially one of the worst D-1 schools in the country not long ago, off the schedule this year. First of all, the two teams haven't met since the 2005-06 season and even then, it was a meaningless game between 2 sub .500 teams. Also, that game generated less buzz than a public intox ticket in Old Town. You couldn't have given Sweet Dick Willie from "Do the Right Thing" a free 40 oz Camo Ice to attend that game. Perhaps with both teams trying to rebuild a new face for their program, it would have been nice to see the rivalry restored but to tell UIC that they're 'scared' of Chicago St.'s talented bunch that went a whopping (9-23) last year and last to Olivet Nazarene AT HOME...I don't think so T. Diddy. Maybe you wanted to settle an old score with Howard Moore, or wanted a chance to get back at your alma mater. But publicly calling out UIC has a better chance of getting settled in a back alley off Diversey Parkway rather than at the Pavilion or the Jones Center.

As for Pick of the Day, K-State made a statement in Lawrence last night beating their in-state rivals 59-7 giving Pulse Man his 24th win. It's Friday again, and that means its time for the Pulse Man to drain the contents of another Saturday 6 pack and fall asleep on his parent's couch while leaving the oven on again. The picks of the week are posted below.

Saturday 6 Pack:

2 Team Parlay:
1. NC State @ East Carolina (+7.5), ECU
2. Arkansas @ Auburn, Total Points (60.5)-UNDER


3 Team Parlay:
1. Iowa @ Michigan- IOWA, moneyline
2. Ohio St. (-4) @ Wisconsin- OSU
3. Air Force (-1) @ San Diego St.- AIR FORCE

'Big Ticket' Pick of the Day:
SMU (+1.5) @ Navy- SMU

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost