FanHouse KevinStallings

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports is reporting that Indiana is wasting no time in its coaching search, calling Washington State coach Tony Bennett the day after his Cougars were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament and telling him the job is his if he wants it.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bennett is expected to leave Washington State, and that he's also one of the top choices of the administration at Cal.

According to Goodman, Bennett is atop a list at Indiana that includes Xavier's Sean Miller, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings. Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl's name has also been mentioned in connection with the Indiana job.

Kelvin Sampson took a contract buyout during the season after the NCAA said he violated recruiting rules. Dan Dakich, who took over as interim head coach, has said he wants the job on a permanent basis but is apparently not seen by the Indiana administration as a strong candidate.

The question is whether any strong candidates will want the job. When Sampson was hired Indiana was seen as one of the most attractive jobs in the country, but with likely NCAA sanctions, does it make sense for a coach like Bennett, who has a good thing going at Washington State, to leave?

If he does, the financial compensation will likely be substantial. Although Bennett has the job security of a seven-year contract at Washington State, his $800,000 salary is paltry compared to what Indiana will be willing to pay if it thinks Bennett can deliver national championships on the court and compliance with NCAA rules off it.

UPDATE: Tony Bennett Denies Getting Indiana Offer

Vanderbilt and UMass can both put up points in a hurry and they didn't disappoint in Nashville yesterday. Shan Foster hit eight threes to become Vandy's all-time leader in made longballs and the Commodores improved to 15-0 in a 97-88 home win. While the Minutemen couldn't continue the A-10's upset string they did cast some doubts about the long-term fitness of VU.

Ricky Harris, Chris Lowe and Gary Forbes had their way with the Commodore defense and scored 25, 22 and 22 points, respectively. Their drives to the lane were unimpeded and their threes thrown up without a hand in the face, two things the Commodores desperately need to change if they hope to contend for SEC honors. Give Kevin Stallings credit, though, he realized that the one chance he had, with UMass up nine in the second half, was shifting to a zone that forced them to shoot from deep. Harris was 5-of-10 from three but his mates were 3-of-14 and Vandy ran away behind Foster's dead-eye shooting.

It wasn't like the Minutemen weren't guarding him. He was hitting with hands in his face and still finished with 32 points. The defense was keying on him, to its detriment, as A.J. Ogilvy was open inside all day, drawing fouls and finishing with 25 of his own. UMass hung with a good team but their lack of stopping power is going to cost them in A-10 play.

Elsewhere on the mid major hardcourts:

In the last few weeks Vanderbilt's been getting some real positive pub: lots of love for super frosh AJ Ogilvy, a spot in ESPN's Power 16, and a climb to #17 in the AP poll. Then, on the day Vandy Sports Line celebrates the Commies' climb to #1 in Ken Pomeroy's RPI rankings, Pomeroy blasts Vandy as one (along with Miami and Oregon) of the nation's paper giants:

The Commodores have already survived close calls against South Alabama (double overtime), DePaul (overtime) and Wake Forest (three-point win). None of these may end up being quality wins when we look back in March, but nonetheless Vanderbilt is ranked 17th in the latest AP poll. With five home games coming up, and only one of them a potential loss (UMass), Vandy should be 15-0 and on the doorstep of the top 10 heading into SEC play. This is another team where perception will far outweigh performance.

Ouch. But the 'Dores have Ogilvy and Shan Foster playing really well, so doesn't that count for something? Shouldn't the fact that Vandy has come through in close games make them battle-tested?

Consider that if they had lost two of those three close calls, Vandy wouldn't be much different as a team...and they also wouldn't be ranked. The point here is that the Commodores schedule has been incredibly weak. There are quite a few other teams with blemishes on their record that could have rolled through Vandy's slate given the same amount of late-game fortune.

OK, but part of fortune is the residue of design. With VU relying so heavily on a freshman and breaking in so many players that weren't , there's going to be some growing pains. I'm not going to argue too heavily against Pomeroy (I don't have the chops, that guy digests more basketball for breakfast than I've seen in my lifetime), but I'm not going to dismiss the Commies too quickly either. They may not be the 17th best team in America, but with the SEC looking a little down this year, VU has an open door to a good conference record and a solid seed in March.