College basketball insider

What should Illinois do with the Assembly Hall? Vote in our daily poll.

Team of the Week

IUPUI

This isn't about the Jaguars' standing as the Summit League's top defensive team, or their first win against a Big East opponent (Seton Hall, Dec. 20). IUPUI is our TOW because of coach Ron Hunter's work with Samaritan's Feet. On Saturday, in a game against Centenary, Hunter will coach barefoot, raising awareness for the non-profit organization that collects donated shoes and gives them to kids that don't have any. "You never know what you're saying yes to," Samaritan's Feet spokesman Todd Mellow said Monday. "When coach Hunter said yes to us, he changed the course of so many lives." On Monday morning alone, 14 coaches called Samaritan's Feet to pledge to coach barefoot. You won't find a coach who donates more time than Bruce Weber – he's helped raise about $750,000 for Coaches vs. Cancer as the coach at Illinois – but we'll make a suggestion anyway. Convene with good buddy Tom Izzo and pace the Breslin Center sideline Saturday with your toes on display. Here's a guess Weber and Izzo would make SportsCenter for reasons other than the final score. "Based on what these coaches have done, and the donations of a number of retailers, we're on the cusp of our goal of 1 million shoes," Melloh said.

League of the Weak

Southeastern Conference

This settles it: the SEC is, once and forever, a football conference. The News-Gazette's AP Top 25 ballot was submitted Monday, and only one team from the SEC made the cut. No. 20 Arkansas made its case with wins against top-10 foes Oklahoma and Texas. (Maybe the Razorbacks should join the Big 12, because they're 0-1 in the SEC after a loss to Mississippi State.) The SEC's better teams had their chance at high-profile wins. But Kentucky lost to Louisville, Tennessee lost to Gonzaga (twice) and Florida's schedule looks like something out of the Okaw Valley (the 284th-toughest schedule in the country, according to www.kenpom.com). "The SEC is clearly the worst of the six power conferences, so it will probably take 10 conference wins to get a bid," stats guru Ken Pomeroy told Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.

Games to Watch

1. Illinois vs. Arizona, 2005 NCAA tournament (6 p.m. Tuesday, Big Ten Network) – A neutral observer once told us, "Illinois should be charged with assault" with its aggressive play over the final four minutes of regulation. Agree? Disagree? Take another look as the Big Ten Network replays this epic Elite Eight matchup.

2. New Orleans Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers (7 p.m. Friday, ESPN) – We're betting Loren Tate's salary that former Illini Luther Head won't be a Houston Rocket next season. He's friends with Chris Paul – they became tight through Deron Williams at Olympics training in August – and New Orleans is a distinct possibility.

3. No. 13 Georgetown at No. 3 Duke (12:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS) – Before you watch Illinois and Michigan State battle for first place in the Big Ten (3 p.m., ESPN) – we think Illinois beats Michigan on Wednesday – check out a rare interconference matchup between Big East (Hoyas) and ACC (Blue Devils) heavyweights.

Conference Call

LEAGUE PVS.

1. Big East 1

2. ACC 2

3. Pac-10 3

4. Big 12 5

5. Big Ten 4

6. SEC 6

7. Mountain West 7

8. Atlantic 10 8

9. Conference USA –

10. Missouri Valley 10

Wooden Watch (Upcoming Opponents Edition)

1. Kalin Lucas, Michigan State – Illinois faces three of the Big Ten's top Player of the Year candidates in its next three games: Harris (Michigan) on Wednesday, Lucas on Saturday and Turner (Ohio State) on Jan. 20.

2. Manny Harris, Michigan – From 1985 to '1989, the Wolverines had three Big Ten Players of the Year (Roy Tarpley, Gary Grant, Glen Rice). They haven't had one since, though Harris could change that.

3. Evan Turner, Ohio State – Four Big Ten programs have never had a Player of the Year (Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Northwestern). Ohio State's had five, and so has Michigan State. Indiana leads the way with six.

The Ex-Files (1983-84 reunion edition)

1. Dick Nagy, assistant coach (1980-96) – Nagy spoke to the Illini during a team chapel prior to Saturday's game against Indiana. "He talked a lot about life and doing the right thing," UI coach Bruce Weber said.

2. Bruce Douglas, Co-MVP ('84) – And Douglas addressed the Illini in the locker room before tipoff. "I talked to them about how special it is to be a Fighting Illini," Douglas said.

3. Efrem Winters, UI's ninth-leading career scorer (1983-86) – A rare visit to the Assembly Hall made the day for many fans in attendance. "I can't believe it's been 22 years," Winters said. "I won't wait so long to get back again."

Polling place: News-Gazette vs. national polls

N-G Top 25

How Klee voted in this week's Associated Press poll:

1. Pittsburgh – City on a high: Panthers No. 1, Steelers in AFC Championship Game

2. Wake Forest – Possible No. 1 seed for first NCAA tourney berth since '05

3. Duke – Chris Collins, Steve "Wojo" titled assistant head coaches under K

4. Connecticut – Women's team a unanimous No. 1 with 45 first-place votes

5. North Carolina – Head-spinning downturn has Tar Heels at 0-2 in ACC

6. Oklahoma – Blake Griffin has racked up four Big 12 Player of Week awards

7. Michigan State – Illinois' last win in East Lansing: March 4, 2006

8. Texas – N-G's Bob Asmussen has football Longhorns at No. 1 for 2009

9. Clemson – ACC (4), Big East (3) have seven top-10 teams in our poll

10. Syracuse – Cleveland State's buzzer beater the 'Cuse's only loss

11. UCLA – Bruins own 103 national titles, in all sports, most in NCAA

12. Georgetown – Former Hoya Reggie Williams one of our favorite Nuggets

13. Notre Dame – Glenbrook South's Jack Cooley a perfect fit for Irish

14. Arizona State – Sun Devils went 2-16 in Pac-10 before Herb Sendek's arrival

15. Marquette – Tom Crean drank at least three Cokes on sideline Saturday

16. Illinois – By beating Michigan, Illinois reaches 1,600 wins all time

17. Butler – Dangerous in the NCAAs, but only if their threes are falling

18. Xavier – Future NBAer Derrick Brown named A-10 Player of the Week

19. Purdue – The key to Boilers season: better play from Keaton Grant

20. Arkansas – Wins against Texas, Oklahoma; And a loss to Mississippi St.

21. Wisconsin – Badgers' best player? Right now we think it's Joe Krabbenhoft

22. Baylor – Bears ranked No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball preseason poll

23. St. Mary's – Win vs. Santa Clara (63-62) shows WCC title won't come easy

24. California – Pac-10 Player of the Week Patrick Christopher a hidden gem

25. Michigan – John Beilein: "Will be a difficult task to win" at Illinois

pklee@news-gazette.com

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