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After Floyd, USC's Top 5 Candidates

mike garrett replacing coach tim floydIt's June, a.k.a., a terrible time to find a quality basketball coach. But that will be USC's task after Tim Floyd's sudden resignation Tuesday amid a slew of allegations regarding the recruiting of star guard O.J. Mayo. Athletic director Mike Garrett (right) is used to hiring coaches on the fly. He fired Henry Bibby just four games into the 2004-2005 season, tabbed Jim Saia as interim coach for the season and then nabbed Floyd.

Garrett has time before having to go the interim route and there are some qualified coaches who either are unemployed or at mid-majors and would likely leave their schools and incoming recruiting classes for a job at a major school in a major conference. The USC athletic director has a history for going after tough gets and succeeding, but the question is whether the Trojans basketball program will be severely punished for the Mayo situation? Floyd was accused by former Mayo associate Louis Johnson of giving $1,000 to Rodney Guillory, an alleged street agent representing Mayo.

College Basketball's Top 25 Coaches


In an effort to talk about something college basketball-related other than scandals in the summer, let's talk best current coaches. We'll attempt to order the top 25 current coaches in the nation. This is about the present and the future, not the distant past. What a guy did in the mid-90s doesn't matter near as much as the direction his program is currently headed. Past pedigree also matters, to an extent. For the perfect mix of past accomplishments with present achievement and a paved road for future success, look no further than the man atop the list.

Has Arizona Ruined Its Coaching Search?

Everyone knew Russ Pennell had no chance to stay in Tucson as the head coach once Louisville finished off the Wildcats. It was an incredible run to the Sweet 16, seeing as though nobody even wanted the name "Arizona" in the tournament to begin with.

As the buzzer sounded on that 39-point rout, the coaching search became official. The Wildcats needed a high-profile coach to fill the shoes, and the legacy, of Lute Olson. That was easy in theory, but couldn't have gone worse thus far in the recruiting game.


Zip It in Reynolds Wrap: Villanova Wins Big East Classic

Scottie ReynoldsBOSTON -- If you felt a shiver or tingle Saturday night, a quaking in your solar plexus, it's because you witnessed an epic basketball game, one of the virtuoso classics of March or any month. I mean, did Bill Raftery need oxygen afterward? This was destined to finish with the boldest, loudest exclamation point possible, given the 15 lead changes, palpable tension and Big East-style physicality in the building.

It was just a matter of who, what and when.

And then, in a magnificent flash, it happened. That the moment would belong to Scottie Reynolds, the embattled Villanova guard, made it grander. In enemy gyms, jerky kids with no lives actually chant, "Scottie doesn't know," which might be intended as a Euro Trip reference but almost certainly is meant as a savage reference to how Reynolds was put up for adoption as a baby by an 18-year-old single mother. He never has met the woman, although, with the urging of his adoptive parents, he has done investigative work and figured out who she is. He's waiting for a good time to call her.

Fields Is Mr. Madness, But Fear Villanova

BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is Levance Fields, and sometimes, he'll drive you to exasperation with reckless dribbling into traffic and corkscrew jumpshots heaved for no apparent purpose or reason.

Fields Is Mr. Madness, But Fear Villanova

BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is Levance Fields, and sometimes, he'll drive you to exasperation with reckless dribbling into traffic and corkscrew jumpshots heaved for no apparent purpose or reason.

Pitt Has Mighty Muscles - Not Stuff to Win

DeJuan Blair
DAYTON, Ohio -- DeJuan Blair's arms are so humongous, he wears bicep bands, tiny strips of cloth stretched to the brink of snapping. At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, he could play tight end in the NFL or enter the Octagon, proving it Sunday when he shook off a furious collision that left Oklahoma State's Byron Eaton literally crying in pain on the bench. Levance Fields, too, could put on the big pads as a safety, absorbing a blindside pop in the chops and bouncing right back up. Sam Young? A 6-6, 220-pound wideout, no doubt, when he isn't listening to Go-Go music.


No. 1 Pitt 84, No. 8 Oklahoma St. 76: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores
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No Championship Muscle

DeJuan Blair
DAYTON, Ohio -- DeJuan Blair's arms are so humongous, he wears bicep bands, tiny strips of cloth stretched to the brink of snapping. At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, he could play tight end in the NFL or enter the Octagon, proving it Sunday when he shook off a furious collision that left Oklahoma State's Byron Eaton literally crying in pain on the bench. Levance Fields, too, could put on the big pads as a safety, absorbing a blindside pop in the chops and bouncing right back up. Sam Young? A 6-6, 220-pound wideout, no doubt, when he isn't listening to Go-Go music.


No. 1 Pitt 84, No. 8 Oklahoma St. 76: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores
Talk March Madness: Check Out FanHouse's New Forums

March Mayhem Already in Full Overdrive

General Motors couldn't afford to buy ad time during the Super Bowl. It bailed on a nine-year endorsement relationship with Tiger Woods, whose almighty golf bag had been adorned with a Buick logo. The automaker is mired in doomsday hell, a symbol of America's economic crisis. But how utterly fascinating that GM is conducting business as usual with the one sports event that probably would survive the apocalypse.

March Madness.

Also known as, six overtimes in Madison Square Garden ending at 1:20 a.m.

Raw Appeal of March Stronger Than Ever

Kansas 2008 championshipGeneral Motors couldn't afford to buy ad time during the Super Bowl. It bailed on a nine-year endorsement relationship with Tiger Woods, whose almighty golf bag had been adorned with a Buick logo. The automaker is mired in doomsday hell, a symbol of America's economic crisis. But how utterly fascinating that GM is conducting business as usual with the one sports event that probably would survive the apocalypse.

March Madness.

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