SEC Basketball Notebook

By Randy Rosetta
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl is a media favorite most of the time, a walking quote sheet in a nice suit who never shies away from a microphone or camera.

So when he bristled at a television reporter earlier this fall, you knew something was up.

The source of Pearl’s angst was a question that implied the Memphis basketball program was the state’s best. Pearl deftly avoided an answer, but he won’t have to tonight when the 16th-ranked Tigers invade Thompson-Boling Arena.

Memphis topped the Vols last season, 88-79, in the first game of a 17-game series after a four-year hiatus. By season’s end, both teams were among the nation’s best with the Tigers gaining a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and Tennessee a No. 2.

Both teams look much different this year, though. This is a perfect chance for the revamped Vols to make a statement with three straight non-conference games looming in the next few weeks: Western Kentucky in Knoxville, vs. Oklahoma State in Nashville and then back home against Texas.

Junior guard Chris Lofton is Tennessee’s leader with 18.6 points a game (second in the SEC) and 3.8 3-pointers made per contest. Lofton is lapping the field in 3-pointers made (30) and attempted (62), and has teamed with senior Dane Bradshaw (7.4 points, 4.6 assists per game) to give the Volunteers a steady backcourt presence.

The tempo should be revved up tonight, as UT is forcing 23.8 turnovers a game (most in the SEC) and has pestered seven opponents into 20 giveaways or more. Memphis foes have coughed the ball up just over 20 times a game, and the Tigers aren’t shy about launching from 3-point range, with nearly 40 percent of their field-goal attempts coming from outside the arc.

Memphis is a 1-point favorite on WagerWeb.com, and that seems about right since 13 of the previous 17 games between the Tigers and Vols have been decided by 10 points or less.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: It turns out the younger half of the Hansbrough brother basketball tandem isn’t bad, either. Bulldog freshman Ben Hansbrough, the younger brother of North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough, was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after hanging up 23 points, 8 assists and 3 steals in his first start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Hansbrough torched the Islanders by hitting 6-of-7 field goals, 5-of-6 from 3-point land and 6-for-6 at the foul stripe. He also had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists against Charlotte as Mississippi State bounced back from consecutive losses to Winthrop and at Clemson. Hansbrough and sophomore Jamont Gordon (16.7 ppg, 4.8 apg) have helped stabilize the Bulldogs’ ball handling, as MSU has 44 assists and 40 turnovers in the last three games after struggling with 36 assists and 60 TOs in the first three games of the year.

LSU: The Tigers got a big week off to a good start by downing No. 6 Texas A&M 64-62 Tuesday in ninth-ranked LSU’s first victory in a top-10 matchup since a 66-65 win over Tennessee in 1981. The Tigers also ended the SEC’s 10-game drought against ranked foes this season as junior center Glen Davis notched his 43rd career double-double with 24 points and 10 caroms. Davis leads the SEC in scoring with 19.7 points a game and ranks second in rebounding with 9.8.

OLE MISS: At 7-1, the Rebels are off to their best start since 2000-01 under first-year coach Andy Kennedy. Ole Miss junior guard Jermey Parnell was a sparkplug in an 85-77 come-from-behind triumph against New Orleans last week with a career-high 16 points on a red-hot shooting night (5-for-5 FG, 6-for-7 FT). The Rebs have forced 119 turnovers and rank third in the SEC in turnover margin (+4.8). The Rebels own the league’s best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.35. Ole Miss ends a 10-day break for finals when it travels to face Memphis on Saturday.

AUBURN: The Tigers put up a good fight against No. 2 Pittsburgh Sunday but fell just short (74-66) despite Josh Dollard’s first career double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds). AU wraps up a stretch of nine games in 20 days when it tangles with instate foe South Alabama tonight. The coaching matchup pits two pretty decent college point guards – Auburn coach Jeff Lebo from North Carolina and USA’s John Pelphrey, one of “The Unforgettables” of Kentucky basketball lore. The series with the Jaguars is tied, but the teams haven’t met since 2001. The Tigers are 6.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.

Consistently Contending Spurs

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

The lifespan of greatness in professional sports is about the same as your average car battery. Dominance generally lasts three or four years.

Then there are the San Antonio Spurs.

Bill Clinton had just begun his second term in the White House the last time the Spurs were lousy. San Antonio has won at least 53 games in each of the past eight full seasons.

It would appear 2006-07 will prove no different. San Antonio is now tied with Dallas atop the Midwest Division at 13-5. The most fundamentally sound team in the NBA simply outclasses the competition.

The Spurs have outscored their opponents this season by a league-best 7.5 points a game. Their .398 3-point shooting percentage ranks atop the NBA. They have surrendered just 92.4 points a game, second to Houston. They are among the leaders in most statistical categories.

Individual consistency translates into team consistency every season. Tim Duncan is again scoring 21.9 points with 11 rebounds a game. Guard Tony Parker is averaging 19.5 points and 5.2 assists. Bruce Bowen is playing his usual lockdown defense. Manu Ginobili and reserve guard Michael Finley have yet to find their shooting accuracy, yet the Spurs continue to win.

If revenge is a motivator, they should win Wednesday night as well. According to WagerWeb.com, they are 8-point favorites in Charlotte, which stunned the Spurs in San Antonio earlier in the year.

ONE BOUNCES BACK, ANOTHER DOESN’T: Two sizzling teams finally lost earlier this week. Dallas had its 12-game winning streak ended Monday in Washington. Detroit had its eight-game streak snapped in Charlotte.

Both teams had a chance to redeem themselves Tuesday night. Only the Mavericks did.

They did it in style, knocking off disappointing New Jersey on the road, 92-75. With enemies such as the Nets, they required no friends. The New Jersey bench contributed just 10 points. Its three reserve guards missed all nine of their shots and combined for one assist.

The Pistons lost their second consecutive game to considerably weaker competition, falling at home to Portland, 88-85. Detroit jacked up 24 3-pointers and hit just seven.

DRIBBLES: The Golden State Warriors have lost their past two games by a combined 68 points, both to Midwest Division powers. They fell to San Antonio, 129-89, and to Houston, 118-90. Guard Jason Richardson missed both games due to soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. … Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes is close to returning from his high ankle sprain injury, but likely won’t play against visiting Toronto on Wednesday night. Cleveland is an 8.5-point favorite, according to WagerWeb.com. … The Chicago Bulls can even their record at 9-9 and win their sixth straight Wednesday night at home against struggling Philadelphia. WagerWeb.com lists them as 9-point favorites. … Phoenix guard and two-time reigning Most Valuable Player Steve Nash dished out an NBA season-high 20 assists in a 127-102 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night.

Waiver Wire Week 14

By Chris Goudey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

This is a critical week in fantasy football circles, as in most leagues this is either the last week of the regular season or the first week of the fantasy playoffs. Having the right players in your lineup this week could make the difference between making the playoffs and crying in your beer. These players could be available on your waiver wire and would be decent starting players for you if you need some help:

Quarterbacks
There are a lot of QBs available on the waiver wire who have nice matchups this week. If you are a Donovan McNabb owner, these guys could be inserted in your lineup and should do just fine for you. I have them ranked in order of preference:

Vince Young, Tennessee vs Houston
Brad Johnson, Minnesota vs Detroit
Jeff Garcia, Philadelphia vs Washington
Alex Smith, San Francisco vs Green Bay
Matt Leinart, Arizona vs Seattle

Running Backs
There probably aren’t many RBs left out there who could help you this week, but if you own Ronnie Brown (who is probably out again this week) and need some help, here’s who should be out there:

Cedric Houston, NY Jets – Houston broke out in a big way last week, with over 100+ yards and 2 rushing TDs. Look for more of the same this week against a soft Buffalo rush defense.
Sammy Morris, Miami – Morris should get the bulk of the carries with Brown out again, but he has a tough matchup against New England.
Justin Fargas/ReShard Lee, Oakland – Fargas gets most of the carries now, but Lee is the goal-line guy. The Cincy defense can be run against, so either or both guys could have nice games.
Mewelde Moore/Ciatrick Fason, Minnesota: Regular starter Chester Taylor was banged up against the Bears last week and both Moore and Fason saw action in his place. Taylor’s status is currently up in the air for this week, but if he sits, there is an opportunity, as the Vikes have a real nice matchup against the Lions. Moore would be my first choice between the two.

Wide Receivers
Marcus Robinson, Minnesota/Antonio Bryant, San Francisco: Minnesota and San Fran have the two best schedules against the pass in the next three weeks, and these are the No. 1 guys for those offenses.

Marty Booker, Miami – Booker has taken over as the No. 1 guy in Miami, as he has built a nice connection with Joey Harrington. Miami should have to throw this week against New England, so look for Booker to put up some good yardage and have a shot at a TD.
Matt Jones, Jacksonville – Jones finally had the game his owners were waiting for last week, with 128 yards and a TD. Hopefully he continues this trend, as he has extreme physical gifts and just needs to stay on the field to produce.

Tight End
Vernon Davis, San Francisco: I had Davis on this list a couple of weeks ago, but he hasn’t done anything since. That should change this week, as the 49ers’ other TE, Eric Johnson, is out with an injury. Between that and the great matchup against Green Bay, Davis should finally put some numbers up this week.
Ben Utecht, Indianapolis: Starting TE Dallas Clark is out, and even with Clark in the lineup Utecht is getting a few looks per game. He should see his pass targets increase this week and he could be a top-10 TE as long as Clark is out.

Kickers/Defenses
As you know I’m of the mindset that kickers are pretty much dime a dozen and you can do just fine playing matchups each week. For defenses, the best thing to do is check the schedule each week and try and get teams that are playing against teams with bad records, i.e. Houston, Oakland, etc.

Best of luck as you make your last stab for the playoffs or are in your first-round matchup!

Indispensable Westbrook

By Tim Sullivan
WagerWeb.com contributing writer

Journeyman Jeff Garcia has been given a lot of credit for keeping the Eagles afloat since they lost Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb last month. And perhaps, rightfully so. With little preparation time, Garcia has started two tough games — against the Colts and Panthers — and came out a modest 1-1.

But make no mistake. The 6-6 Eagles would be nowhere without running back Brian Westbrook.

“We’re not out of it. I’ve said it in weeks past, that we’re fighters and we’re going to continue to fight until the end and you know we’re going to go out and take every game one at a time,” Westbrook said. “Let the chips fall where they may at the end. You know we’re not going to let up. We have four games left, and we’re going to keep fighting and keep shooting and hopefully at the end, we’ll be in the playoffs.”

If they make it, it’ll be on his shoulders. Westbrook, in his fifth season out of Villanova, has 906 rushing yards, 586 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns. He has done so with a nagging knee injury, and in Monday’s 27-24 win over Carolina, he suffered a toe injury.

The Eagles travel to meet the Redskins on Sunday. Philadelphia is -1.5 on WagerWeb.com

“I should,” Westbrook said, “be ready to go.”

Eagles Nation can only hope so. In a 27-3 victory over the Redskins Nov. 12, Westbrook, who continues to be listed each week on the injury report as questionable, had 150 total yards.

“He still has a little bit of tenderness in there. It comes and it goes,” Coach Andy Reid said. “Some days are better than other days. But we have been able to push through.”

With an added emphasis on victories the rest of the way – Philadelphia probably needs to win out to make the postseason — a little insurance for Westbrook couldn’t hurt. With that in mind, keep an eye on Duce Staley, a former Eagle and fan favorite in Philadelphia who was released by the Steelers this week.

“I probably need to talk to (General Manager) Tom (Heckert),” Reid said, “before I go in that direction.”

SHORT-HANDED STEELERS: At 5-7, Pittsburgh shouldn’t be all that concerned about its playoff future. And with just three days to prepare for this week’s game, the Steelers don’t have much time to, anyway.

“We might as well,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said after the Steelers’ 20-3 win over Tampa Bay last Sunday, “leave our uniforms on.”

That won’t be the case for two key cogs, however. For the second consecutive week, wide receiver Hines Ward and safety Troy Polamalu will each miss Thursday’s NFL Network game against the Browns at Heinz Field with knee injuries.

Coach Bill Cowher, in typical fashion, is concerned more about the players he does have at his disposal — rather than those he doesn’t have — for a rivalry, prime-time game that he still deems critical no matter how far behind the playoff pack Pittsburgh is.

“We’re just going to approach it like it’s another game,” he said. “We’re going to come out firing, and we know they’re going to come out firing, and it should be a classic game.”

The Steelers are -7.5 on WagerWeb.com.

EXTRA POINTS: The puzzling career of Tampa Bay WR Michael Clayton continues. A 2004 first-round pick, or bust, out of LSU, Clayton is lost for the season with a knee injury. He had 1,193 receiving yards in his rookie season, but has just 728 since. … Give credit to Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy for keeping his chin up in a tough town. At 4-8, with only Detroit keeping the Packers out of the NFC North basement, he remains as optimistic as ever. “We have to stay the course, trust the structure, prepare them,” he said. “And I have to get them to do better job to perform on Su ndays.” Good luck . … With the playoff races heating up in both conferences and crucial kicks becoming more and more evident, look for someone to sign Mike Vanderjagt, cut by the Cowboys last week, sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, he’d have to bring all of his baggage with him, wherever he goes.