Conference Player and Rookie of the Year Races

ACC POY:
Jeff Teague and Tyler Hansbrough. Both guys have the stats but as of right now, Teague has more signature games plus the head to head W. Teague, for now.
ACC ROY:
Al-Farouq Aminu. There are some other guys that maybe could challenge. Well, actually the ACC freshman class is weak and Aminu is just about a lock to win. Aminu

Big East POY:
Jerel McNeal, Luke Harangody, DeJuan Blair, and Hasheem Thabeet. McNeal and Thabeet are the two best defenders in the conference, Harangody has the best stats and Blair has arguably the best overall game. Notre Dame is down so 'Gody is out. Thabeet is known more for his D so he is out. Blair does most of his work on the glass and defers to Sam Young in the clutch. McNeal is the leader of the number one team in the conference and wants the ball when the game is on the line. McNeal, for now.

Big East ROY:
Greg Monroe, Samardo Samuels, Mike Rosario, and Devin Ebanks. Samuels has the most hype but has been somewhat disappointing. Rosario has the best numbers but plays on a team that needs him to shoot early and often. Ebanks has had his flashes but is too inconsistent. Monroe owned Thabeet in Big East game one and has been more important to his team than any other guy on this list. Monroe

Big Ten POY:
Taylor Battle, Kalin Lucas and Evan Turner. The conference is in the midst of a down year and most surprising has been the success of Penn State. Battle is the best unknown player in the country. He leads the conference in points and assists. Turner possesses the best overall game in the conference because he scores, rebounds, passes, and defends. Lucas has numbers but he also has the best talent around him. As weird as it is to say the best player in the conference is from Penn State, it's hard to argue. Battle

Big Ten ROY:
William Buford. Much like the ACC, the Big Ten is having a down year for freshman talent. Ohio State's BJ Mullens was touted as the top talent but his learning curve has been steeper than most expected. Mullens' teammate, William Buford, stepped in for injured guard Dave Lighty and has filled in amicably. Buford

Big 12 POY:
Blake Griffin. Not even close. Griffin

Big 12 ROY:
Willie Warren. Again, not much of a competition. One of the best guards in the conference and gets to play with a dominant big like Griffin every night. If it was chosen by name, I would pick Texas' Dogus Balbay. Too bad. Warren

Pac-10 POY:
James Harden, Jon Brockman, and Jerome Randle. Although Randle has numbers, his contributions are not as important to his team as they are for Brockman and Harden. These two guys make their teams go and are the primary reasons they both have a chance to win the conference. Brockman is a double double machine while Harden is so good, he has no right hand, teams know that and yet, he goes left whenever he wants and scores. Without Harden, Arizona State is not sniffing March. Harden

Pac-10 ROY:
Isaiah Thomas, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday. Holiday and DeRozan both were top ten recruits and both are top ten in terms of disappointment. Both are just average conference starters and look nothing like the lottery picks many thought they were. Thomas has wallowed in obscurity but the man with the big name is no slouch. He runs up and down the floor and is arguably the heart of the Huskies team. Not as much of a slam dunk as Warren in the Big 12 but pretty close. Thomas

SEC POY:
Jodie Meeks, Nick Calathes, and Tyler Smith. Smith is probably the first one out because of the talent around him and also because of the lack of success Tennessee has had. They are a good team just not the top ten team they proclaimed to be when the season started. Most would consider Meeks the favorite because of his scoring but Calathes deserves serious consideration because of his overall game and team's success. Calathes but it could be a split decision with Meeks.

SEC ROY:
Courtney Fortson. Much like Willie Warren and William Buford, Fortson has the best stats and the least competition. Fortson

Players You Should Watch

Durrell Summers, G/F, Michigan State (Most consistent scorer for Spartans)

Taylor Battle, PG, Penn State (A great leader and competitor for surprising PSU)

Dexter Pittman, C, Texas (Once conditioning is good, this guy will blossom into a franchise player)

Dante Cunningham, PF, Villanova (Best mid-range J of any big man in college)

Gerald Henderson, G/F, Duke (Pure scorer with ability to take and hit late game shots)

Nikola Dragovic, F, UCLA (His emergence correlates with UCLA's potent offense of late)

Big East vs ACC: A brief breakdown

The ACC and the Big East, in no particular order, are the two best conferences in the nation. ACC backers say their success nationally, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and Clemson all reside in the top ten as of today, is the reason why they should be considered supreme. The Big East backers point to depth, eight teams in the top 25, make them supreme.

Here are the conference matchups based on league record through Jan. 18. (rankings are based on AP Top 25)

#1 Wake Forest (16-0, 3-0) vs #11 Marquette (16-2, 5-0)

#2 Duke (16-1, 3-0) vs #9 Louisville (13-3, 4-0)

#10 Clemson (16-1, 2-1) vs #8 Syracuse (17-2, 5-1)

Florida State (15-3, 2-1) vs #4 Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-1)

Virginia Tech (12-5, 2-1) vs #3 Connecticut (15-1, 4-1)

#5 North Carolina (16-2, 2-2) vs #12 Georgetown (12-4, 3-2)

Miami (13-4, 2-2) vs Providence (11-6, 3-2)

Maryland (12-5, 1-2) vs #19 Notre Dame (12-5, 3-3)

North Carolina State (10-5, 1-2) vs #20 Villanova (14-3, 2-2)

Virginia (7-7, 1-2) vs West Virginia (13-4, 2-2)

Boston College (13-6, 1-3) vs Cincinnati (12-6, 2-3)

Georgia Tech (9-8, 0-4) vs St. John's (10-6, 1-3)

Top 25

The shock (sort of) of the weekend was North Carolina falling last night to Wake Forest. Sure we knew Wake was good, sure they were playing at home, but UNC dropping two straight? Not a chance. The Boston College game has showed that teams are not in awe of the Heels anymore. Wake came out firing and attacking that defense at every chance. Jeff Teague was fantastic. Although he is listed at PG, he is more of a scorer right now but his vision is getting better with every game. Wake is riding high but will face another rising ACC Clemson soon. That could be a top ten game. O yeah, and the Big East is ridiculously talented and there is no, I repeat, no easy out.

1. Pittsburgh
2. Wake Forest
3. Duke
4. Connecticut
5. North Carolina
6. Michigan State
7. Oklahoma
8. Syracuse
9. UCLA
10. Texas
11. Clemson
12. Notre Dame
13. Xavier
14. Georgetown
15. Marquette
16. Arizona State
17. Minnesota
18. Purdue
19. Louisville
20. Butler
21. Baylor
22. California
23. Villanova
24. Michigan
25. Gonzaga

Where They Stand: SEC

Eastern Division:

South Carolina 9-1 (0-0)
Florida 8-2 (0-0)
Tennessee 8-2 (0-0)
Kentucky 8-3 (0-0)
Vanderbilt 8-3 (0-0)
Georgia 7-3 (0-0)

Western Division:

Arkansas 8-1 (0-0)
LSU 8-1 (0-0)
Alabama 6-3 (0-0)
Ole Miss 7-4 (0-0)
Miss State 7-4 (0-0)
Auburn 6-4 (0-0)

Favorite: Tennessee
Contenders: Florida, South Carolina, and Arkansas
Sleeper: Kentucky
Destined for Last: Georgia and Auburn
Biggest Non-Conference Win: Tennessee 90 vs Georgetown 78
Biggest Non-Conference Loss: Mercer wins over Alabama and Auburn

This is not football. Unfortunately the SEC is probably the worst BCS conference in the country. Tennessee is their best team and they are ranked #17 by the AP and there are four Big East teams ranked ahead of them. This conference has been cupcake city so I don't think anybody knows what to expect outside of Tennessee's success. The lack of quality competition is really a huge problem. LSU has not played anybody and neither has South Carolina, who lost to the College of Charleston. Sorry SEC fans but outside of the Vols and maybe Florida and Arkansas, your conference stinks.

Where They Stand: Pac-10

Stanford 8-0 (0-0)
Arizona State 10-1 (0-0)
California 9-2 (0-0)
UCLA 9-2 (0-0)
Arizona 8-3 (0-0)
USC 8-3 (0-0)
Washington State 8-3 (0-0)
Washington 7-3 (0-0)
Oregon 5-6 (0-0)
Oregon State 4-5 (0-0)

Favorite: UCLA
Contenders: Stanford, Arizona State, USC
Sleeper: Arizona
Destined for Last: The Oregon Schools
Biggest Non-Conference Win: Arizona 69 vs Gonzaga 64
Biggest Non-Conference Loss: Portland 80 vs Washington 74

New coach Johnnie Dawkins has been loading up on cupcakes so his record is somewhat inflated. If they are good then it will show when conference play starts. Arizona State looks to be the team most capable of defeating UCLA and winning the Pac-10. USC freshman DeMar DeRozan is slowly coming along which will only help the Trojans get better. Arizona, a program that was almost torn apart by the abrupt retirement of Lute Olsen, is quietly a factor and boasts a solid trio in Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and Nic Wise.

Where They Stand: Big East

Pittsburgh 12-0 (0-0)
Connecticut 10-0 (0-0)
Syracuse 12-1 (0-0)
Villanova 11-1 (0-0)
Georgetown 9-1 (0-0)
Cincinnati 10-2 (0-0)
Marquette 10-2 (0-0)
Notre Dame 9-2 (0-0)
St. John's 9-2 (0-0)
West Virginia 9-2 (0-0)
Louisville 7-2 (0-0)
Rutgers 9-3 (0-0)
Seton Hall 8-3 (0-0)
Providence 8-4 (0-0)
DePaul 7-5 (0-0)
USF 4-7 (0-0)

Favorite: Connecticut
Contenders: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Louisville
Sleeper: West Virginia and Cincinnati
Destined for Last: USF
Biggest Non-Conference Win: Notre Dame 81 vs Texas 80
Biggest Non-Conference Loss: Western Kentucky 68 vs Louisville 54

Depth and quality. The Big East has both and at they have at least 11 or 12 potential NCAA Tournament teams. It will be a dogfight during conference play because of the new 18 game schedule. Everybody plays everybody else at least once. UConn seems to be the best but will be challenge by Pitt, Syracuse, and Notre Dame. Louisville has been very disappointing and they look disinterested and they don't play hard. If Rick Pitino gets these guys into shape then they could be dangerous. The league will be dominant in March, this is the Year of the Big East.