Sports Frog

Conference play is underway, which is a good thing in most of the country. Less so if you live in Memphis and are stuck in C-USA. Check out the C-USA RPIs for the top half of the conference (courtesy of the Commercial Appeal and Real Time RPI):

Memphis #1 (say, that's a good start)
Tulane #77 (oh, um, damn)
UTEP #101 (wheels already off, rolling down the road)
Houston #106
Tulsa #116
UAB #123
Marshall #194
East Carolina #204

And that's the strength of the conference in terms of RPI. Want a further chuckle? SMU at #325 overall and a mere 16 from dead last in the country ain't gonna help matters much once conference play starts either. In case you were wondering why Memphis schedules its ass off non-conference, the above is why. Thank the deity of your choice for remaining non-conference games for Memphis against Gonzaga and Tennessee. Gracious.

Great read from Seth Davis in si.com in the stock up/stock down buy/sell format. A taste:

"Indiana: BUY

Hoosiers are just outside the top 10 right now, but that will change in the next couple of weeks. Not only is Eric Gordon the front-runner for Big Ten player of the year as a freshman, but I think he should be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. The Hoosiers also have plenty room for growth. Look for freshman Jordan Crawford and juco transfer Jamarcus Ellis to steadily improve the next two months.

Kansas: BUY

No need to overthink this one. The Jayhawks have more depth and talent than any team in America, and I love the way Darnell Jackson is playing down low. Plus, the Big 12 is just so-so and they only have to play Texas once.

Kansas State: SELL

I realize the Wildcats have a 9-4 record and are unranked, but I'd guess there are still some people out there who are thinking, "Well, they have Michael Beasley, so they're probably going to the tournament." No, they're not. You still need good guard play in college basketball, and with David Hoskins still not recovered from knee surgery, it looks like Beasley's one season of college basketball will have to end in the NIT.

See, I did not know that about K-State. And now I do. He said, while wondering about either Eric Gordon or Michael Beasley in a Grizzlies uniform this fall...

Gary Parrish at sportsline.com (one of the handful of great college basketball writers on the national sites) has a solid article on the impact that transfers are having on a number of programs this year and why it does not happen more often.

And, while we are here, power rankings:

Frank Burlison's effort at foxsports.com
The Power 16 on espn.com

Enjoy.