The Halfcourt Trap

The Trap hits the road for the first time in the ‘08-’09 season this weekend. A trip to New Orleans for Ole Miss-UNO and Grizzlies-Hornets kicks off Road Trap ‘08-’09. With the Big Easy straight ahead, these topics are on my mind. Here…We…Go.

1. Same As It Ever Was. Despite a good performance by traditional conference bottom feeders Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota, the Big Ten once again dropped its Challenge series against the ACC. Most disturbingly for the midwest conglomerate has to the fact that, despite having homecourt advantage, their two standard bearers, Michigan State and Purdue, were hammered by North Carolina. The chasm between the best in each league is as large as ever.

2. Say, say, say. Pat Riley was a firm believer in the concept of “statement games,” clashes where a team defines itself as contender or pretender. Miami and Kentucky face such a matchup Saturday in Lexington. The ‘Canes need to erase their inexcusable home loss to Ohio State. The ‘Cats need to prove they are the team that has run off a nice winning streak since losing to VMI and being hammered by North Carolina.

3. The Son Also Rises. Skeptics were not in short supply when Pat Knight took over from his father last season. I know. I was one of them. While 8 games certainly isn’t enough of a sample to start calling for the Texas Tech coach to be deified, the Red Raiders’ 7-1 start is encouraging to the faithful in Lubbock.

4. The Proof Is In… One of the best things about the preconference portion of the season is that it allows for matchups that show us what direction some teams are really headed in for the season. One such matchup Sunday is between a pair of 6-1 teams in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers host Cal in a showdown between two teams trying to build some at large credibility before hitting conference play. The winner gets a nice card to play come March.

5. A Change Will Do You Good. Sometimes, coaching changes are mutually beneficial. Early returns indicate that is the case with John Brady’s departure from LSU. Trent Johnson has the Tigers sitting at 6-0 and looking like the clear class of the SEC West. Brady, for his part, has Arkansas State at 5-1, with 3 of the wins on the road.

6. Keep The Guillotine Sharp. Tommy Tuberville’s forced departure at Auburn doesn’t look like it will be the only professional bloodshed on the Plains this year. Jeff Lebo’s team is currently 3-4 and doesn’t appear to be substantially better than any of his prior mediocre squads. A change appears inevitable.

Until next week, stay classy, Volnation.