He’s leading the nation in scoring, his team has the No. 2 rated RPI, but can’t get a sniff of a ESPN broadcast. Jimmer Fredette has his BYU cougar squad rolling so far this season and much of that is due to the fact that he’s proving to be unguardable on the college level.
Fredette is leading the nation in scoring at 26.1 per game right now on 48 percent shooting. It doesn’t get much better than that and doesn’t get much better than the Cougars. At 15-1, the Cougars are looking at a possible top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Mountain West Conference title.
Fredette may be the best player in the country and BYU may be the best team out West. BYU has disposed of much of the 14th rated schedule with ease and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect it to continue to play great through conference play.
Stock Up: The Big East. Rebuild…how about Reload. If you look below at the bracket, you’ll see 11 teams from the Big East in the field. Now, I don’t believe the Big East will get 11 teams in come March, but I expect to see nine and 10 won’t surprise me. Once again it’s the best conference in America – appearing to be just as stacked at the top as it’s always been.
Stock Down: Mississippi St. I’m not really sure what Rick Stansbury is doing, but he needs to figure out what kind of program he wants to run. Right now he looks like he has no control as he has a player, who was suspended for all of last season and most of this season, get into a fight with a teammate in practice – gets suspended – gets reinstated – and then gets into a fight with another teammate while watching two other teams play a game. I don’t really know how he’s going to bounce back, but it looks like it’s going to be a long season in Starkville.
Stock Up: Central Florida. The team led by Marcus Jordan, son of Michael, is off to a 13-1 start with wins over in-state rivals Florida and Miami. The Knights will have some serious challenges if they want to win Conference-USA, but it looks like they’re primed for one of the best seasons in program history.
Stock Down: ACC. A few years ago the possibility of a team being good enough to go undefeated through the ACC was laughable. Now…it’s pretty realistic. That’s not because Duke is that great, it’s because the ACC is that bad. With Wake Forest and Georgia Tech at horribly bad levels and NC State and Florida St under-achieving, get ready for a lot of whining on Selection Sunday from our friends on Tobacco Road.
This Week’s Bracket Projections:
Last Four In: Washington St, Virginia Tech, Richmond, Dayton
Last Four Out: New Mexico, USC, Southern Miss, Colorado St
Good for games through 1/10/2011
EAST
1.Duke16.McNeese St/Jackson St Charlotte
8.Vanderbilt9.Michigan St
5.UCF12.Dayton/Washington St Tampa
4.Missouri13.Harvard
6.UNLV11.Utah St Denver
3.Connecticut14.Coastal Carolina
7.Georgia10.St. John’s Chicago
2.Purdue15.Austin Peay
WEST
1.Syracuse16.Florida Atlantic Washington, DC
8.Minnesota9.Old Dominion
5.Washington12.UAB Tucson
4.Texas13.Charleston
6.Louisville11.Wichita St Chicago
3.Illinois14.Akron
7.Kansas St10.Cincinnati Tucson
2.San Diego St15.Long Beach St
SOUTHWEST
1.Kansas16.Northern Colorado Tulsa
8.Tennessee9.Arizona
5.Wisconsin12.Richmond/Virginia Tech Tulsa
4.Notre Dame13.Hofstra
6.Georgetown11.Gonzaga Charlotte
3.Kentucky14.Belmont
7.North Carolina10.Missouri St Cleveland
2.Pittsburgh15.Bucknell
SOUTHEAST
1.Ohio St16.Morgan St/Hartford Cleveland
8.West Virginia9.Boston College
5.Florida12.Marquette Tampa
4.Texas A&M13.Oakland
6.Temple11.Butler Denver
3.BYU14.Fairfield
7.Oklahoma St10.St. Mary’s Washington, DC
2.Villanova15.Wagner
Bracketville USA 