So even though many teams took the week off due to finals, I am taking the opportunity to hand out some progress reports of my own.

The Bottoms Line: Stock Up

BYU

While the Cougars haven’t beaten anyone ranked higher than 90th in the Pomeroy Ratings, they are 8-1 since a season-opening loss to Utah State, winning each game by at least 14 points.  Noah Hartsock, Charles Abouo, and Brandon Davies are all averaging at least 10 points and six rebounds, and the team is knocking down nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc, proving there really is life after Jimmer.

With Gonzaga struggling, the WCC is definitely up for grabs, and the Cougars will certainly be a factor.  Saturday’s matchup with Baylor will be a challenge, but it’s also a chance to pick up a marquee win.

Indiana

Saturday’s thrilling win over Kentucky vaulted the Hoosiers back into the polls and gave Tom Crean and the program the signature win and the signature moment they’ve been longing for.  New Bloomington folk hero Christian Watford has been a different player since the second half of the North Carolina State game, and the team continues to get contributions from a number of different players.

If IU can avoid a hangover against Notre Dame this weekend, they should be 12-0 heading into Big Ten play.  Their first three league games are as tough as they come with a road trip to Michigan State followed by home dates against Ohio State and Michigan.

Marshall

With Memphis struggling, the Herd is starting to look like the C-USA favorite.  They won in overtime at Cincinnati and lost by just six at Syracuse before beating a solid Iona team by 19.  A two-point home loss to Ohio is the other blemish on their record, but if they can navigate a home-and-home with Belmont, the Herd could be 11-2 before the conference opener against UTEP.

Led by juco transfer Dennis Tinnon and Robert Goff, Marshall leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, which has helped to offset poor outside shooting.  Guards DeAndre Kane and Damier Pitts have combined to average 29.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.9 steals between them.

Michigan State

Led by a career-high 34 points from Draymond Green, the Spartans picked up a big road win at Gonzaga and extended their win streak to eight games.  Green was superb, hitting 11-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Michigan State continues to get it done with tough defense and relentless rebounding, and while the offense remains a work in progress, there are signs of improvement.  The team has scored at least 1.04 points per possession in each of the last five games after doing so just once in their first five contests.  Look for Sparty’s win streak to be at 11 games when they open conference play against the aforementioned Hoosiers.

Northern Iowa

Many predicted a two-horse race in the Missouri Valley between Creighton and Wichita State, but it would seem the Panthers have other ideas.  Despite a couple key losses from last season’s roster, Northern Iowa has been able to maintain a high level of play thanks to a number of talented long-range shooters and solid team defense.  Junior guard Anthony James is averaging 18.7 points over the last six contests, and fellow junior Jake Koch is playing some of his best basketball as well.

The Panthers have a tough matchup against Ohio on Tuesday, but the early part of their MVC slate should allow them to get off to a good start.

The Bottoms Line: Stock Down

Belmont

The Bruins dropped a close game on the road against Middle Tennessee State, and it looks more and more like they’ll need to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament in order to make the Big Dance.  Things are shaping up much like they did last season for Belmont when they piled up 30 wins but were ultimately undone by a low RPI and lack of quality wins.  They need to sweep their upcoming home-and-home series with Marshall to have any hope of an at-large bid, because they have just one other game remaining against a team in Pomeroy’s Top 150.

Creighton

Last weekend’s loss to Saint Joe’s prompted me to look a little closer at the Bluejays.  So while they have a superb talent in Doug McDermott and are leading the nation in effective field goal percentage, defense is a concern.  As their level of competition has increased, so has Creighton’s defensive struggles.  Three of their past four opponents have scored at least 1.10 points per possession, and they have also struggled on the glass during that stretch.

Creighton can definitely outscore people, but the defense has to improve if they want to make noise in March.  The MVC race should be entertaining as usual with Creighton, Northern Iowa, and Wichita State all in contention.

Memphis

The fact that the Tigers already have three losses is one thing, but it’s hard to begrudge them for losses to Michigan and Georgetown, both of whom are ranked in both polls.  However, no matter what you think of Murray State, that’s a team Memphis should be able to handle at home.

More than that, there just doesn’t seem to have been a ton of growth from this team.  Last season they came together at the end of year after it looked like they wouldn’t even make the tournament.  Given the young nucleus from that team, I expected that progress to continue, but they seem to have regressed instead.

The Tigers are getting manhandled on the glass, and four of their key players have relatively ugly efficiency numbers.  They have a chance to erase some of the disappointment when they travel to Louisville this weekend before a trip to Georgetown next Thursday.

Villanova

I wasn’t sold on the Wildcats coming into the season, but somehow I talked myself into them finishing seventh in the Big East.  That may still happen I suppose, but as it stands, they are just 6-4 with their best win coming in overtime against La Salle.  Outside of that, Nova hasn’t beaten anyone in Pomeroy’s Top 165.  That said, the only questionable loss came against Santa Clara in the 76 Classic.

Still, I am not sure many things suggest a turnaround for the Wildcats either.  They are among the worst teams in the nation at forcing turnovers, and their shooting, particularly from three-point range, has been pretty ugly.  Starting guards Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek are a combined 27-of-97 (27.8%) from deep, and their career numbers don’t suggest future improvement.

Washington

After dropping two games in New York, the Huskies have now lost three straight and four of their last five, and now big man Aziz N’Diaye is out for a few games with a knee injury.

Offensively, Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox have been terrific, with both guys averaging 16.5 points, shooting the ball well from the outside, and posting solid overall efficiency numbers.  The team has struggled with turnovers at times, and doesn’t get to the line very often, which may be a good thing since they are one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country.

Perhaps the bigger issue is on defense where they rank outside the Top 125 in each of Pomeroy’s four factors.  The Huskies aren’t forcing turnovers, and opponents are make frequent trips to the line while also hitting better than 36 percent from beyond the arc.  Freshman Tony Wroten’s evolution and maturity will go a long way toward determining this team’s fate, but right now his advanced stats are stunning – and not always in a good way.

The postives are a strong assist rate and the fact that he draws nearly eight fouls per 40 minutes.  However, his 35.7 usage rate is third in the country, but he is hitting just 51.9 percent from the stripe and turning the ball over at a high rate.  The good news is that the Pac-12 is wide open, so by no means are they at risk of getting left in the dust there.

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Follow me on Twitter (@andybottoms) for more thoughts on college hoops, and check out the latest edition of the Bottoms Line podcast.

As soon as word came down that Tyrone Willingham was out as the football at the University of Washington, speculation immediately began to build about the possibility of UDub making a run at Missouri coach Gary Pinkel.

It would be a case of career suicide if Pinkel decided to drop what he has built at Mizzou and head for the Pacific Northwest.

Pinkel spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach of the Huskies (1976, 1979-90) under former head coach Don James. Pinkel followed Don James to the Seattle school after playing his college ball under James at Kent State, in their native state of Ohio from 1970-73.

Gary Pinkel does have a history at Washington. But does that outweigh what he has built at Missouri?

Granted, Pinkel hasn’t won a Big 12 Conference championship during his seven-plus seasons in Columbia. And while he has managed to post some wins over Nebraska in recent years, in addition to a marquee victory over Kansas last year at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for the Big 12 North crown, his team has stumbled against the likes of traditional Big 12 bullies Oklahoma (two losses last year, the last in the conference title game) and Texas.

But Gary Pinkel has been able to transform Mizzou from also-ran status to a team that could contend for Big 12 titles on a regular basis, or at the least, be the big dogs in the North Division. Pinkel has led the Missouri Tigers to three straight bowl games for the first time in 25 years. The Tigers also ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll for the first time since 1960 last year.

Records aside, Pinkel has made huge recruiting inroads with Mizzou’s recent success. He’s been able to cop premier talent from the state of Texas, namely senior quarterback Chase Daniel. He has successfully fended off the efforts of enemy coaches and kept the likes of tight end Chase Coffman and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the Show Me State.

He’s made Missouri relevant again and there’s no reason to think he couldn’t continue to build on that. Washington? That’s another story. The high school talent base in Washington pales in comparison to that of the Southwest, where Pinkel and Co. have gotten stronger, or even Missouri for that matter. Where else are you going to go to stock the cupboard? California? Good luck with that.

Pinkel’s recruiting would start once Southern California, UCLA and Cal get done picking over the five-star recruits. The chances of Washington being able to consistently compete with the California schools are slim. At Missouri, Pinkel can reasonably expect to compete in the Big 12 North and at least get into a Big 12 title game on a neutral field. In the Pac-10 Conference, there is no such title game to guarantee a berth in a BCS bowl game.

The pockets may be a bit deeper with the Washington alumni and there may be a bit more exposure playing in a big city like Seattle; but the program has been run into the ground under Willingham’s watch and the rebuilding project could be long and grueling. Would Gary Pinkel want to undergo that type of fix-it-up job again?

It would be a different story if Pinkel was being lured from his previous job — head coach at Toledo from 1991-2000 — to Washington. Toledo to Washington is a step up.

Missouri to Washington? Nothing more than a sideways move at this point.

And many more headaches.
[tags]missouri tigers, gary pinkel, washington huskies, Big 12, Pac 10[/tags]

And up in the Great Northwest, in Washington — where sports teams and franchises go to die (seriously – every team in that state blows), there is an intriguing matchup between two men who will always be linked: Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis (pictured left…thanks KVB) and Washington coach Tyrone Willingham.

As I’m sure you remember, Notre Dame fired Tyrone Willingham while Willingham still had years left on his contract. This was the first time that Notre Dame had gotten rid of a coach before his contract was up. They replaced him with Charlie Weis, who was coming off another Super Bowl win with the New England Patriots. Over his first couple of seasons in South Bend, Charlie Weis led the Fighting Irish to great success. He received a 10-year extension while Tyrone Willingham was forced to take over a Washington team that has gotten progressively worse since he has been there.

On Saturday, at 8:00 EDT on ESPN2, the 4-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Charlie Weis will take on the 0-6 Washington Huskies and Tyrone Willingham at Husky Stadium. To add even a little more spice to the matchup, guess who will be calling the game from booth…

That’s right, the Ben Stein of football announcers: Bob Davie. You remember Bob Davie right? He took over for Lou Holtz and bridged the gap to the Tyrone Willingham era. The South Bend Tribune published an interesting article that looked at this intriguing reunion of three coaches who do not seem to be the best of friends. And just think, if ESPN had practiced a little disciplinary consistency and given Lou Holtz some well-deserved time off for using an ill-advised Hitler reference, he could have been there too and made it a quartet. Can you imagine? I think Beano Cook’s turkey neck would explode. (And maybe Ron Powlus could bring his three Heisman trophies for everyone too?)

Anyway, this Notre Dame-Washington game doesn’t really have many implications other than the fact that Notre Dame seems to be rebounding from their awful 2007 season, and a victory would push them one game closer to bowl eligibility. You’d have to think they’ll win, but something tells me that Tyrone Willingham’s team will be ready to at least make it a fight. Willingham does seem to inspire loyalty and passion among his players, even if he is not the greatest X’s and O’s coach in the world. (Charlie Weis, however, is the greatest X’s and O’s coach in the history of mankind and all civilization. Just ask him.)

I think Washington can keep this one close, but I do see Notre Dame pulling it out. Jimmy Clausen seems to be coming into his own as the leader of this Irish offense, and Notre Dame simply will be too talented for the undermanned Huskies.

The real excitement of this game, however, won’t really be the play on the field; but the subtext that surrounds it. There are few jobs in coaching as prestigious and pressure packed as being the head football coach at Notre Dame. Amazingly, the last three men to hold that title will all be involved with this game on Saturday. I am sure that nothing “controversial” will happen and it will just be a pretty normal football game, but it will still be a worth a glance during the commercials of Ohio State and Penn State.

(Photo Art by Midwest Sports Fans and Flash Sports Tonight; and yes, that is Charlie Weis’ head in the Touchdown Jesus mural.  If you are offended, eat a pickle spear and get a sense of humor.)

[tags]charlie weis, tyrone willingham, notre dame football, washington huskies, college football, ncaa[/tags]