Don't expect much here in the next week or so. I'll be on vacation, visiting family and trying to watch as much college basketball -- when the rest of the fam isn't watching bowl games.

By Jan. 3, it'll be back to usual, and then non-stop until the national title game.

Happy holidays, hoopheads.

The best news this holiday season? Derrick Roland didn't have to spend most of it away from home.

When the Texas A&M senior suffered a gruesome leg injury during a Dec. 22 loss at Washington, officials figured he's be spending his holidays in Seattle. But doctors were pleased with the progress of his broken right tibia and fibula and gave him the O-K to head out.

The "freak thing" means Roland's basketball career is likely over, but getting back to his family and friends was a nice way to help ease that.

With any luck, it'll be the last season-ending injury for the season. (Fingers crossed)

Here are your 5 Things to Watch.

Michael Dinneen/AP

Oklahoma is waiting for Willie Warren to be its leader.

Enough with tune-ups
A smattering of conferences open play this week, including notable games featuring teams from the Big East, Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Pac-10 and Horizon.

Bowl week? Hah! Not with matchups like Syracuse vs. Seton Hall (Tuesday), Northern Iowa vs. Creighton (Tuesday), Northwestern vs. Illinois (Wednesday), UConn vs. Cincy (Wednesday), Butler vs. Wisconsin Green Bay (Thursday) and Arizona vs. UCLA (Saturday).

Did a double-take with the last one, right? The rest feature NCAA-caliber teams, while the Wildcats are hovering around .500 and the Bruins are a huge disappointment. But here's the thing: In this season's Pac-10, either one could finish 3^rd in the conference, which would boost their NCAA hopes.

If both want to extend their NCAA tournament streaks, now's the time to start.

Pleasant surprises
If you predicted that New Mexico and Texas Tech would be a combined 22-2 for Tuesday's game, skip that Bracketology class and proceed directly to Las Vegas. Now.

Neither team is a bona-fide contender, but we're to the point where ignoring either would be foolish. Pat Knight's second season in Lubbock is showing some promise, while Steve Alford continues to thrive away from the Big Ten.

In fact, it could be the most entertaining game of the day, at least on offense. Both teams push the ball and score efficiently, which gives it a chance to be this week's throwback game, kinda like BYU-Nevada (110-104) was last week.

A rivalry, anew
Much of the Memphis-Tennessee rivalry grew out of snipes between John Calipari and Bruce Pearl. Yet the on-court results were often just as entertaining.

The Vols ruined' Memphis' chance at a perfect season in 2008, while the Tigers earned a measure of revenge in last season's 54-52 victory.

Now that Josh Pastner is on the Memphis sideline, will Thursday's game still have the requisite "pop" or are we just going to see an entertaining game? After all, the Tigers haven't lost their defensive ability and the Vols remain committed to running and shooting.

The latter will be enough for me.

Whither Willie Warren?
Much was expected of Oklahoma's star sophomore before the season: scoring, defense and cementing himself as the Sooners' on-court leader. Well, coach Jeff Capel isn't satisfied with one of three.

After a loss to UTEP dropped Oklahoma to 8-4, Capel called out his would-be replacement for Blake Griffin and the other 2 starters OU lost.

"We have some guys who step up at times, but not a consistent voice, not a consistent leader," Capel said. "You know who it is. Everyone in this room knows who it is.

"A leader is a guy that's consistent. It doesn't mean he necessarily plays well all the time, but they're consistent. Their voice is consistent. They're positive when they get on guys, but you can only get on guys when you're doing it yourself, when you're giving good effort."

Thursday's trip to Spokane to face Gonzaga gives Warren a chance to end 2009 on a high note. He'll need it with conference play looming.

The unsung stars
Harvard's Jeremy Lin and Seattle U's Charles Garcia are the nation's best players who aren't household names. And even when their teams face off on Saturday, it won't be a one-on-one show. Lin's a guard; Charles is a power forward with range.

But is a game that'll receive 10 times the usual attention a Harvard-Seattle matchup normally would, and that's because of their stars.

So when you're getting the rundown on the rest of Saturday's action, don't skip over that random Harvard-Seattle box score. These are two guys worth every bit of scrutiny you can deliver.

Mike Miller does 5 Things to Watch every Sunday. He also spouts off on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.

Much of the college basketball end of decade stuff was settling during the Final Four and over the summer, mostly because the general consensus is that the 2009-10 season belongs to the next decade. All the end-of-the-decade arguments apply to the other sports, I suppose.

For example, North Carolina essentially bagged team of the decade honors with their title (just ahead of Florida and Michigan State), which helped Tyler Hansbrough move into player of the decade territory. Even stuff like the "most hated player of the decade" got covered.

Then again, SI.com's decade-in-review stuff makes for great reading and arguing.

So let's wade in, shall we?

Craig Jones/Getty

Maryland coacg Gary Williams had one of the decade's best teams in 2002.

The all-decade team submitted by Grant Wahl is solid, but too heavy on ACC players for my taste. Hansbrough and Duke's Jason Williams are gimmies. Both won titles and were All-Americans multiple times. After that, argue away.

Shane Battier was a player of the year in 2001, but feels out of place here. Same with Sean May. I like Jameer Nelson, Carmelo Anthony, Emeka Okafor and Juan Dixon, for their individual performances and how they elevated their teams. Guys like J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison could score, but couldn't deliver in March. (For that matter, why include Redick and not Stephen Curry?)

And Joakim Noah often gets elevated as the standout on those Florida title teams, but those were the definition of teams, not individuals. Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey won those titles, not Noah.

And part of me wants to argue for four-year players who thrived in the regular-season and in March like Nick Collison (two Final Fours) and Darren Collison (three Final Fours).

In the end, I'd go with Williams, Hansbrough, Anthony, Nelson and Okafor, who just edges out Collison.

Now, onto Seth Davis' highlights and lowlights of the decade.

Some of these were gimmies (Best coach: Roy Williams; worst team: N.J.I.T.; best Cinderella: George Mason; best small school: Gonzaga) and others were great nuggets (I'd forgotten Dwyane Wade dropped a triple-double on Kentucky in the 2003 Final Four).

But I'd take issue with his best single-season team: St. Joe's, 2004.

I love what Nelson and Delonte West and the Hawks did that year, running through the regular season unbeaten. But they're not even the best team that didn't win a title in the decade (that's 2005 Illinois).

The pro-laden teams like 2005 UNC, 2007 Florida and 2008 Kansas all featured balanced rosters that could score and defend, yet I'm siding with the always underrated 2002 Maryland squad. Why that Terps teams never gets any love is beyond me. Maybe it's the ugly NCAA title game against Indiana, but I blame Mike Davis for that, not Maryland.

Gary Williams' squad was big (Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox), athletic (Byron Mouton and Drew Nicholas) and featured a great backcourt in Dixon and Steve Blake. At 32-4 and 15-1 in the ACC, they were dominant all season, and won when it mattered.

Those Terps? They were as good as any team this decade.

Mike Miller is still shocked at how easily Maryland beat Kansas in the 2002 Final Four. He's also on Twitter(@BeyndArcMMiller.

Peter G. Aiken/Getty Stephan Collins and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have played the nation's toughest schedule thus far.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff is seemingly as hapless as it gets.

After a brutal non-conference slate, the Golden Lions are 0-10, and figure to enter their conference schedule winless until they manage a road win at Oregon on Monday.

Bad, right? Not so, says Ken Pomeroy.

The tempo-free guru notes that while APB has yet to win, it hasn't been blown out, either. In fact, it's been downright respectable in games against the likes of Kansas State, UTEP, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Georgia Tech and Arizona State. The Lions haven't lost any game by more than 20 points despite playing by far the toughest schedule in the country.

In fact, he gives them an 18 percent chance of running the table in the SWAC.

If that happens – entering conference play without a win, only to beat all league foes – it'd be one of the more impressive feats this season.

At least until Texas flirts with an undefeated season…

Mike Miller also can be found on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller), even on the holidays.

Wanna become a bracketologist? Joe Lunardi can teach you how.

But you better hurry. ESPN's resident expert only teaches 20 students per section (for $249), and you'll be done just before March Madness begins.

Of course, you may fulfill all of these objectives – understanding how everything applies to team selection and seeding process and "common misconceptions behind the bracket" – but there's one thing to remember: Unless you're trying to get a job as a bracketologist, you want to learn how to pick the winners, not predict the bracket.

How else will you win that NCAA pool?

(H/T: Ballin' Is a Habit)

Mike Miller is on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and follows @BracketguyDave for all his bracketing needs.

We're well past the point where people wonder if Texas is a good team. They've showcased, defense, athleticism and depth in wins against UNC and Michigan State – two teams replete with NBA-caliber players.

The question now is pinpointing just how good the Longhorns are.

We don't know yet. Neither does Texas coach Rick Barnes, who did the usual coachspeak afterward about being unhappy with an impressive victory vs. the nation's ninth-ranked team.

Harry Cabluck/AP

Gary Johnson and Texas have displayed impressive defensive ability this season.

"I told them it's great. It's December," Barnes said. "I said if this is as good as we're gonna be, we're in trouble. We've got a lot of room for growth."

That's a prospect that should scare the rest of college basketball.

Yes, Texas (11-0) were at home for the Spartans and got the Heels to come to Cowboys Stadium. But consider that Dexter Pittman -- who hits the offensive glass for Texas at a rate slightly worse than DeJuan Blair did last season for Pitt – played just 12 minutes due to foul trouble. That altered Texas' offensive approach, yet they still managed an eFG% of 62.3. That'll keep Tom Izzo up at nights.

Or consider how freshmenjunior Dogus Balbay and freshmen Avery Bradley and J'Covan Brown took turns on Michigan State's Kalin Lucas and hounded him into a miserable night. Eleven points on 3 of 11 shooting, six turnovers and 2 assists is also gonna keep Izzo awake.

The defense shouldn't be a surprise. Texas sits atop kenpom.com's adjusted defense rankings, and won't be giving up that spot anytime soon.

Barnes' teams also displayed its depth (eight guys played at least 12 minutes Tuesday) and got a big night from Damion James (23 and 13), who is making his case as the top power forward.

The major area for concern? Free throws. Texas was eight of 19 from the line and is hovering right around 60 percent for the season. Hmmm. A team killer D, good freshmen, hits the boards, yet can't hit FTs? This should familiar.

As John Gasaway tweeted, the 'Horns are essentially Memphis from 2007-08: Prohibitive D and hideous FT shooting.

Barnes would take that. After all, Memphis was one miracle shot away from an NCAA title.

 But I'm not sure he'd want to play Kansas to get there…

If you followed Mike Miller on Twitter at @BeyndArcMMiller, you'd have even more insights into the 'Horns' win. Let that one cook your noodle.

Drexel's role in Kentucky's big night Monday was simple: Come to Lexington, play a game, then get out of the way when the Commonwealth celebrates the school's 2,000^th win.

For their trouble, the Dragons will collect at least $50,000, and possibly even 80K.

In this economy, that almost makes losing by 40 worth it.

Sure, it's not as much as college football teams guarantee opponents – sometimes it can be more lucrative not to play – which can fetch up to $750,000, but that's one game among only 6 or 7 home games. Considering that basketball team plays anywhere from 12 to 16 home games during a season (and not all of them are guaranteed-money games) that kind of setup can get expensive.

Still, I doubt Kentucky regrets spending any of that money.

Heck, they'll probably recoup that money in T-shirt sales. Have you bought your UK2K shirt yet? It's all the rage for Christmas.

Mike Miller also can be found on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller, talking about this and that. But mostly that.

The Georgetown exodus continues. But this isn't one Hoyas fans will bemoan.

Junior Nikita Mescheriakov will be the fifth Hoya to transfer in the last three years, joining Jeremiah Rivers (Indiana), Vernon Macklin (Florida), Marc Egerson (Delaware) and Omar Wattad (Chattanooga). Losing Rivers and Macklin hurt, though John Thompson III's program (8-1 this season) seems to be getting along without them.

But losing Mescheriakov – who occasionally started last season -- is a whole different level. Unless he was the greatest locker room teammate that ever lived, it'll be a boost. Let's let Casual Hoya sum it up in their "Tribute to Nikita Mescheriakov." (Sarcasm)

Is Nikita a good kid?  I'm sure he is.  But if you want to post about that, feel free to head over to HoyaTalk.  The bottom line here is that Nikita's contributions of less than one point and less than half of a rebound per game will not be missed, and with an additional scholarship now opening up this is great news for the program.  I'm not going to get into the argument about whether the staff should be questioned for recruiting a guy like him to begin with, because frankly, this is a banner day and I'm in the holiday spirit.

Every now and then, coaches miss on a prospect. Even big-time recruiters like Roy Williams can end up with player like Moulaye Niang on the roster. (Look him up.)

Mike Miller wonders if Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller)is making it tougher to get his online Christmas shopping done.

Saturday's big games – No. 2 Texas whipping North Carolina, No. 1 Kansas handling Michigan – overshadowed what turned out to be an intriguing day of upsets.

Florida lost to Richmond. Unbeatens Georgetown and Seton Hall both fell. Georgia handled Illinois, UMass stunned Memphis and USC hammered Tennessee. (That last one still amazes me.)

A month and a half into the season, the only thing we know for sure is that no one's perfect. Even those eight unbeaten teams look vulnerable.

Will any more unbeatens go down this week? Well, 5 Things to Watch has your answer.

Ed Reinke/AP

DeMarcus Cousins should help Kentucky to the 2,000th win in school history on Tuesday.

The race that wasn't
The race to 2,000 wins turned out to be a one-horse race.

Unless Kentucky somehow loses at home to Drexel on Monday – stranger things have happened – the Wildcats will be the first men's D-I team to reach the milestone, easily outdistancing North Carolina (1.992 wins) and Kansas (1,980).

It's not something many basketball fans know or even care about, given that it relates to three teams whose goals are winning titles, not reaching some victories plateau.

Still, it matters to the Big Blue faithful and the school, who will relish their position atop the all-time wins chart. And hey, when you're talking about college basketball blue bloods, never underestimate what matters to those dedicated fans.

Texas two-step
Three days after dismantling North Carolina at Cowboys Stadium, Texas gets its second major test of the season when it plays host to Michigan State.

Will the 'Horns (10-0) be pushed on Tuesday? Depends on those fabulous freshmen.

Avery Bradley, J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton combined for 46 points, 15 rebounds and six steals vs. the Heels, providing essential depth behind Texas' upperclassmen, Damion James and Dexter Pittman.

Even if Pittman somehow gets into foul trouble against the Spartans, Texas has enough depth – Rick Barnes is using a 10-man rotation – to offset any one player. Don't expect Texas to be seriously tested until a trip to Kansas State next month.

About those perfect teams…
So Texas and Kentucky aren't losing. But two have tricky games ahead.

West Virginia (8-0) escaped against Cleveland State (this is why BCS schools rarely schedule non-conference road games against mid-majors; nothing doo comes of them), which means games against Ole Miss (Wednesday) and Seton Hall (Saturday) could go either way. Ole Miss gave K-State and UTEP their only losses of the season, while the Hall gets to warm up with Navy.

Meanwhile, Missouri State (10-0) makes a trip to Arkansas on Tuesday. The Bears are no pushover, but aren't great at guarding along the perimeter. If they lose Rotnei Clarke or can't keep Marshawn Powell off the boards, they'll be in for a long night.

How about a do-over?
The Pac-10 didn't just struggle in its series vs. the Big 12 this season. It barely registered. Oregon State beat Colorado and Cal thumped Iowa State. The other nine games weren't so good.

Washington gets a chance to give the Pac-10 the final word, even if it won't win the overall standings. The Huskies (7-2) play host to Texas A&M (9-2) on Tuesday, which should be an up-tempo affair. UW runs more, but A&M is more efficient on offense. First one to 80 wins.

Future present
Illinois and Missouri have built their yearly matchup into one of the game's better non-conference rivalries – which is strange, given that the Illini haven't lost this decade.

Yet, five of the nine games since Illinois' streak began in 2000 have been by decided by six points or less. More intriguing is the Big Ten expansion talk that has Missouri as one of the most likely additions. Could this game soon affect the Big Ten standings?

Mike Miller attended Kansas and thinks it'd be strange to see Mizzou out of the Big 12. If that happens, what would he tweet about @BeyndArcMMiller?

How to describe Butler's last-second win against Xavier on Saturday?

Bizarre? Ridiculous? Wrong?

That last one technically isn't correct, but try telling that to the Musketeers. How else to label a game where the refs take away any chance you have at a potentially game-winning shot because of a clock malfunction?

That's right but feels wrong.

Michael Conroy/AP

Jordan Crawford can't believe Xavier lost.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, watch the video here. Then read the re-caps from the Butler side, and the Xavier side. Got it?

The short sum up is this: Xavier led with 39 seconds left, Butler scrambled madly to try and get a shot off, which it eventually did after a couple of misses. Gordon Hayward's lay-up was released with 1.8 seconds remaining, but after the refs reviewed the play, they determined that there actually wasn't any time left because of an erroneous stoppage of the clock.

The reason? Let the officials spell it out:

"When we put the stopwatch to see how long the clock had erroneously stopped, 1.3 seconds had elapsed. The shot by (Hayward) was released at 1.8 seconds. The ball went through the net at 1.2 seconds and the clock stopped correctly. Because we lost 1.3 seconds, that time is deducted from the remaining 1.2 seconds, officially ending the game."

The home team benefits from a strange clock error, which, after several reviews, is the correct call? Yuck. The situation just reeks.

At the very least, Xavier deserved a chance at a last-second heave because the home team's scorekeeper made the error. After all, Butler made the shot and wasn't handed the win.

But why does it feel so wrong?

The NCAA should take a look at Rush the Court's proposal that the game can't end when time is removed like this, kinda like a defensive penalty in football. Maybe the refs followed the rules -- but in this case, the rules stink.

Mike Miller thinks complaining about the officials makes for a lousy blog post, or poor tweets @BeyndArcMMiller. But sometimes, it can't be helped.

Note to self: Fifty bucks is well worth the price of admission when Bob Knight is speaking.

The legendary ex-Indiana coach, now an analyst for ESPN, was back in Indiana on Thursday taking part in a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Those who've followed Knight's icy relationship with Indiana University through the years knew there'd be chances for fireworks. After all, Knight's never been afraid to speak his mind.

Well, the General still has a way with words.

In one evening, he:

• Ripped the NCAA for considering an expansions to the Big Dance
• Called one-and-done players a joke to academics
• Said John Calipari lacked integrity.

Tom Strickland/AP

Bob Knight at a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

(The whole quote: "We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching. You see we've got a coach at Kentucky [John Calipari], who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that.")

That's called getting your money's worth.

The Calipari comment will get the most attention – calling out another coach always riles up fans and the media – but his other comments are just as potent.

Most college hoops observers have decried the NCAA tournament expansion, but it seems that most coaches, including Mike Krzyzewski, aren't against the idea. General thinking is that a bigger tournament would provide more job security to coaches. To hear a coach of Knight's stature state the opposite is striking.

So for the one-and-dones, his outrage is understandable.

"And very few people know this, but a kid can play the first semester as a freshman, pass six hours of anything and play in the NCAA tournament without ever attending a class in the second semester. I don't think that's right," Knight said.

Can't argue with that. It's not right. But it's also not the player's fault. They're not allowed to jump right into the NBA, so they're doing the next best thing: Improving their game and, in some cases, building their reputation. That's a situation for the NCAA and NBA to address.

And don't think that Knight spent the entire evening ripping people. He even showed some graciousness when it came to his stalemate with Indiana University.

"You know, I've always been a Kenny Rogers fan and I always liked that song where he says 'You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run,"' Knight said. "I've tried to follow that philosophy, and I should have run at Indiana when the trustees and the administration had gotten too far apart and that's probably as much my fault as it was theirs."

OK, so I'm not exactly clear on what that means, but it's clear Knight's trying.

Would we expect anything less from the General?

Did you know Mike Miller's on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller? It's true!

Turns out freshmen are all the rage again.

The nation loves John Wall, Kentucky's fleet point guard. Xavier Henry leads No. 1 Kansas in scoring, and captured Seth Davis' attention.

And our very own Ken Davis takes a look at the rest of the class, including Texas Avery Bradley, whose Longhorns take on North Carolina on Saturday.

It's enough to produce a feature from the AP on how the 2009 could be the best since the remarkable 2007 class, which featured players like Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley. Or maybe it's the 2006 class that produced guys like Kevin Durant, Greg Oden.

I'll leave the "which is better?" argument alone and circle back to that 2006 class.

Would it astound you to know that 26 guys from that class are already in the NBA? Players who would normally be seniors this season are cashing NBA paychecks instead, as Gary Parrish pointed out in his blog. It's not meant to bemoan guys leaving early. It's merely meant to say "Wow."

Sixteen of the top 25 prospects from that class are currently in the NBA. Eight are still in school. Oddly enough, only one of the top 30 isn't playing in college or the NBA right now.

That would be the 10^th-rated prospect from Scout.com's 2006 class, Paul Harris.

Just think. Harris – drafted by the Maine Red Claws in the NBDL – could be playing with the unbeaten Orange right now.

Mike Miller is not the Mike Miller who played at Florida. If you followed him on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller), you'd already know that.

Life isn't easy for college basketball teams on the road. Everything boosts the home team – fan support, familiar environment, possibly even favorable refs – especially when it comes to non-conference games. Teams who rarely play at an opponent's place are adjusting to everything around them. If they're even in a game, it can be a good thing.

So when road teams play well enough to hold big leads late in games, it's like Christmas morning for coaches: The end of the game can't get there fast enough. But sometimes you get coal.

Two of Wednesday's games sum up that notion.

UTEP held a 12-point lead in the second half only to lose at No. 20 Ole Miss, 91-81. The Miners (5-2) were in control for most of the game, but didn't stay aggressive, which irritated coach Tony Barbee. To drive the Christmas metaphor into the ground, he was this close to getting that new train set.

"The disappointing thing is how we lost," Barbee told the El Paso Times. "We played not to lose in the last four minutes. We played not to lose, and we didn't play to win. This was our game ... this was our game. And we gave it away."

Oklahoma State nearly did the same thing against Stanford, allowing the Cardinal to erase a big lead late in the second half. Except Travis Ford must've done something right to get this road win – and he knew it. Instead of bemoaning his team's late performance, he recognized that any road victory is a good one.

"Glad to get a win," Ford told the Daily Oklahoman. "Any way possible.

"I was proud of how hard we played. We made a lot of silly mistakes – 17 turnovers – didn't shoot the ball particularly well. But we played with a lot of intensity on the defensive end. And I thought we did a great job of rebounding the basketball."

I'm guessing Ford's quote could've easily been Barbee's if UTEP holds on, and vice versa with the Cowboys.

The lesson? Take a page from Ford. Always be thankful for those road wins.

Mike Miller thinks Iowa State doesn't get enough credit as a brutal place to play. He says similar things on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.

Kansas junior Brady Morningstar's not the only significant player getting back on the floor as the first semester ends.

At least eight Final Four hopefuls have players joining them soon, not counting Renardo Sidney at Mississippi State. He's still in NCAA limbo.

Jai Lucas could be the most crucial. Texas is deep, but he'll be important at both guard spots and could start at the point if J'Covan Brown or Dogus Balbay struggle.

Uconn fans have been waiting to see Ater Majok play for more than a year. When he finally joins the Huskies' frontcourt, it'll give Jim Calhoun some much-needed depth he hasn't had yet.

Seton Hall has two, Keon Lawrence and Jeff Robinson, both of whom could contribute right away if the Hall didn't already have a nice roster going. Be interesting to see how Bobby Gonzalez handles them.

UTEP's Derrick Caracter already played a couple of games. Oddly enough, the Miners lost both, including at No. 20 Ole Miss on Tuesday. Caracter produced, though (15 and 15).

After a surprising loss to UAB on Tuesday, perhaps Cincinnati should give Ibrahima Thomas more playing time. Certainly couldn't hurt.

You know that Twitter thing sweeping the nation? Mike Miller's also on there @BeyndArcMMiller.

Bill Self's "good problem" is about to get better. Or worse, depending on how you perceive the "problem."  

Kansas junior Brady Morningstar, who started 34 of 35 games last season, will be back on the floor Saturday after serving a nine-game suspension following his arrest on suspicion of DUI in October.

Getting back one of your team's best passers and defensive players is always a good thing. The problem arises when one considers the available playing time.

Kansas' coach uses a nine-player rotation, with healthy doses of his stars, Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry and Cole Aldrich. Others, like Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus and Markieff Morris, play extended minutes. Junior sharpshooter Tyrel Reed and freshmen Elijiah Johnson and Thomas Robinson make up the rest of the second unit.

Johnson's minutes figure to be hit the most, according to this Lawrence Journal-World story, which makes sense. Freshmen guards can struggle, especially when conference play rolls around. But it sounds like Johnson's OK with it – which is only good news for the nation's No. 1 team. Avoiding any kind of chemistry issues are crucial.

"A lot of people don't know this, but he's my favorite Jayhawk," Johnson told the Journal-World. "I watch him a lot at practice. He has to be one of the hardest-working players we've got. He knows everything. He gives me a lot of advice."

Self agrees. He thinks Aldrich's numbers should improve thanks to Morningstar's passing, and expects to see the Jayhawks' outside shooting improve. But Morningstar won't play nearly as many minutes as last season.

"He knows how to get the ball to guys in certain areas and he only takes wide-open shots and the ball doesn't stick. He'll not play 30 minutes. He'll play his fair share. I don't know what that is, yet. We're deeper than we were last year. His role may change. We need an active perimeter defender and ball mover. He's our second-best post feeder behind Sherron (Collins)," Self told the paper.

More depth and an understanding of a specific role? Man, it must be tough to be KU.

Mike Miller also can be found in smaller doses on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.

The Big East is at it again.

The conference that dominated much of last year's hyperbole – three No. 1 seeds! nine ranked teams! four teams in the Elite Eight! – is doing its best to do so again.

Of the 11 remaining undefeated schools, four are from the Big East. Six of its teams are ranked in this week's AP poll, more than any other league. Only the Big 12 is winning games at a better rate.

Kevin Rivoli/AP

Wesley Johnson and Syracuse seem like the only sure-fire title contender thus far.

Somewhat remarkably, the conference has a better overall record than it did at this point last season (118-27 to 115-28). To think that nearly every school lost a chunk of players or a leading scorer from last season and still hasn't seen a significant drop-off is impressive.

Schools like Villanova, UConn and Marquette all lost at least three starters, yet are a combined 22-6. Not bad.

Or take Syracuse. The Orange (10-0) are arguably the nation's top team, with wins against North Carolina, Florida and Cal – all while replacing their three top scorers from last season.

Yet 'Cuse is better on offense and defense and has cemented itself as the team no wants to play. Somehow, that wasn't apparent before the season.

"Of all the problems you can have in the world, we don't have a lot right now," coach Jim Boeheim said after last week's win over then-No. 10 Florida. "We'll probably encounter some problems, but right now we don't have a lot."

The same can't be said of every school, which raises the question: Is the Big East's fast start this season an illusion?

Consider that Georgetown (8-0) has nice wins this season against Butler, Washington and Temple. Just like last season, when the Hoyas started off 10-1 with wins against Memphis, Maryland and UConn. They finished 16-15 and missed the NCAA tournament.

They're not alone in that regard. St. John's is 8-1, similar to last season's 9-1 start. The Red Storm finished 16-18. Notre Dame is 9-2, and began last season 7-2. Irish finished 21-15. Rutgers, 7-2 this season; 7-3 last year, finished 11-21.

Even Seton Hall (8-0), which seems likely to break through to the Big East's upper echelon this season thanks to its new additions and explosive offense, began last season 8-1, only to finish 17-15. Should I even mention that the Pirates haven't played anyone of note?

Maybe it's best not to mention Louisville (5-3), which is doing its usual early season swoon. But unlike the last two seasons, the Cardinals aren't as well equipped to rebound when conference play begins.

And unlike last season when Pitt, UConn and Louisville were Top 25 mainstays and clear title contenders, only Syracuse has done so thus far. 

Villanova doesn't shoot well, and fouls too much. Notre Dame still can't play defense. Pitt and Cincinnati aren't efficient on offense and West Virginia is still waiting on Devin Ebanks to assert himself (though the Mountaineers are a handful with or without Ebanks).

Still, there are a couple of caveats.

It's only mid-December, which means it's too early for serious proclamations about the Big East's NCAA tournament fortunes, from the number of seeds to possible contenders.

But the other caveat is anecdotal, and perhaps more interesting. It's a good thing the rest of the league – DePaul, South Florida, Providence – is better than expected. If every game in a 16-team league is a challenge, it could bode well for March, just like it did for ACC teams during the '90s.

Yes, that's a high standard, given that the ACC placed 11 schools in the Final Four during that decade. But after last season, shouldn't the Big East be aiming high?

Mike Miller can also be found on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller, saying much less at one time than this.

It was a needlessly wordy announcement, but it was there: The Big Ten will expand.

As detailed on CFT.com, during the next 12-18 months, the conference office will "obtain, to the extent possible, information necessary to construct preliminary options and recommendations without engaging in formal discussions with leadership of other institutions."

Keith Srakocic/AP

Jamie Dixon would be a natural on the Big Ten sidelines.

In other words, go talk to some schools and find out who wants to help us go from 11 to 12 teams.

Perhaps it doesn't make the most sense from financial standpoint, but it's happening. Most of the discussion will focus on football – that's where the big money is – but what about the hoops?

Several schools have been tossed out – West Virginia, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers -- and most would be excellent basketball additions. Most talk, however, seems to be circling around Pitt and Missouri.

The Tigers have already said they'd listen if approached. They're not exactly Big Ten country, but are close enough for it to make sense. Yet it seems strange to think of Missouri not playing Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and its other Big 12 rivals every year. Maybe not.

It's mostly my way of saying Pitt is the ideal school. (Much like others already have said here, here and here.

It's plenty big (about 28,000 enrollment), would be a travel partner with Penn State and provides plenty of hoops competition, which would actually benefit the Big Ten. Pitt was a No. 1 seed last season and was among the best programs of the decade under Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland.

If you're gonna expand, talk to Pitt.

Mike Miller's also a fan of expanding his Twitter followers. Check him out at @BeyndArcMMiller.

So you're against expanding the NCAA tournament. That's understandable. The nation's finest sports spectacle is the ideal sporting event – inclusive (65 teams), expansive (31 conferences are represented) and not overly long (the winner plays six games over three weeks).

But, unlike the conventional view that postulates the Big Dance is perfect, there are several reasons pointed in this Wall Street Journal article why tournament expansion could be a good thing. (There also are reasons here, but you already knew that.)

Among the highlights:

• It means more mid-majors will participate.
• It lets quality teams (schools who missed out on an at-large bid) a chance to play, much like Arizona did last season.
• Every game could conceivably be shown on cable TV.
• It adds another round of the most entertaining games, when the most upsets happen.

Now, those reasons do require a few things. First, to watch more games, ESPN would either new to broadcast the tournament (a possibility) or be added as a partner with CBS. And while some might think the additional 32 bids would only come from BCS conferences, that's ridiculous. At worst, it'd be half.

Does it dilute the quality of the tournament? Only if you live in fantasyland.

Right now, there are roughly 16 teams who lose nearly every first-round game. No. 16 seeds have never won a game. After that, four 15 seeds have won, followed by 15 No. 14 seeds and 21 No. 13 seeds. That's since 1985. Those are the non-competitive games. Schools like Kentucky, Georgetown and Virginia Tech from last season (combined records: 56-41) would actually be able to pull off upsets at a greater rate than those serious underdogs.

Adding another week won't wreck the tournament. It'll only change it. And sometimes, change ain't bad.

Mike Miller's also a fan of expanding his Twitter followers. Check him out at @BeyndArcMMiller.

The fan who was ejected from North Carolina's win against Presbyterian says he's not mad at Roy Williams.

But officials saying he was drunk? Not cool.

Brian King spoke to reporters from the Raleigh News & Observer on Monday, and says the ejection was simply because Williams wasn't happy.

"I didn't say anything vulgar, I was not intoxicated ... I was cheering for Presbyterian,'' King, who is from Concord, said. " I was excited to see my little team play a big team. ... When it happened, it was so quiet in the arena; at that point, everyone was talking about their golf scores and portfolios, and I was still cheering. Coach Williams didn't like it, that's all. I don't blame him, but he did over-react."

King was sitting about 20 rows behind Carolina's bench with about 6 minutes to go when he yelled for Tar Heels forward Deon Thompson to miss a free throw. Williams turned around and looked up at King, and soon three officers were on their way into the stands, and asked King to leave.

"I asked why," King said in a phone interview. "And I was told, 'Because this is Roy's house, and when Roy says you need to go, you go.' I thought it was sort of amusing."

Steve Kirschner, UNC's associate athletics director for communications refutes King's version, saying Williams did not ask security to escort King out of the building; King's attitude playing the primary role.'

"When he finally made his way across the aisles, they tried to engage him in conversation. He was still relatively uncooperative. At that point it was in the officers' opinion that he had been drinking. At which point they made the decision that it would be better for himself and others that he was escorted from the building. He was not arrested, no charges were pressed, no trespass orders were issued. That was it. He was simply escorted from the building."

So which version is true? Probably both. I have no doubt King was uncooperative and rowdy. Drunk? Maybe not.

But the bottom line remains the same, summed up by King: When Roy says you need to go, you go.

Mike Miller has never been tossed from a game. If he did, he'd probably tweet about it at @BeyndArcMMiller.

Things I love reading: Sports Illustrated, Neil Gaiman's writing and Jerry Tarkanian reminiscing about his old UNLV teams.

So I'm a little mad it took me a week to come across this gem in Tark's blog on the Las Vegas Sun. The first 3 grafs alone are worth your time:

Mark Wade was a great point guard for our 1987 Final Four team.

But he couldn't shoot the ball, and we didn't want him to shoot it.

He only took 60 shots in 39 games that year. The television announcers would say, 'Tark needs to tell him to shoot.' But why would I want him to shoot when I knew he would miss?

Ah, the Tao of Tark. Say what you mean, and do what you say.

And why not? Wade, a 5-11 point guard, merely set the NCAA record for assists that season, 406, including 18 in an NCAA tournament loss to Indiana. It's still the most assists in a single season. I'd have the guy pass, too.

Follow Mike Miller on Twitter at @BeyndArcMMiller.

Best college hoops trivia question you'll hear this season: Which active D-I coach has the largest number of former assistants who are now head coaches?

It's not Mike Krzyzewski. Not Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino or Roy Williams.

In fact, the answer is younger than all of those coaches.

Reed Saxon/AP

Herb Sendek

At 46, Herb Sendek has already had eight assistants who are now head coaches. And they're not crap coaches, either. Of the eight -- Thad Matta (Ohio State), Sean Miller (Arizona), Ron Hunter (IUPUI), Charlie Coles (Miami of Ohio), Jim Christian (TCU), John Groce (Ohio), Larry Hunter (Western Carolina) and Mark Phelps (Drake) – only Groce and Phelps haven't been to the Big Dance.

That's just one of the nuggets in this Basketball Times profile on the Arizona State coach. Most of them talk about Sendek's relentless preparation, which is summed up in this anecdotal lead:

When Hiram College visited Miami (Ohio) in December 1995, nothing was on the line.
Inside the Redhawks' locker room, an old-school blackboard hung on the wall. The three portions looked like black slate on the wall. Despite the game's minimal meaning, every inch of that chalkboard was covered in multi-colored chalk — graphs, charts, player assignments … everything.
Brian Blaney, Jim Christian and Charlie Coles, Miami's three assistant coaches, sat bemused. Coles leaned over to Christian. "You know," he noted, "small countries have gone to war less prepared than we are to play Hiram College."

And that's why most of these guys are now coaches themselves. They learned how to prepare.

It bears mentioned that Sendek is part of Rick PItino's coaching tree, which includes guys like Tubby Smith, Billy Donovan, Mick Cronin and NBA guys like Jeff Van Gundy and Stu Jackson. Pitino currently has seven former assistants who are now coaching in D-I, and arguably the most high-caliber coaches.  

As for the rest of the coaching trees, there's a list at the bottom of the story with coaches, and their former assistants. Pitino and Mike Montgomery both have 7, Ben Braun has 6, Jim Calhoun (with Glen Miller's firing Tuesday), Izzo, Stew Morrill and Jay Wright all have five.

Mike Miller also can be found blathering on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller. All in 140 characters or less.

Five weeks into the season, only four conferences feature teams without a losing record. Perhaps it's not surprising to see the ACC, Big East and Big 12 among them.

The fourth? The Mountain West. Chalk up one for the mid-majors.

Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty

Darington Hobson and New Mexico are off to a 10-0 start.

Sure, the MWC doesn't have the gaudy overall records of the other two. At 60-24 (a 71.43 win percentage), it falls behind the Big 12 (90-20, 81.21 percent), Big East (115-26, 81.56 percent) and ACC (81-22, 78.64 percent), and teams like Wyoming (5-4), TCU (5-5) and Utah (5-5) are on the cusp of falling below .500.

A couple others are close (like the SEC and the Missouri Valley), but give the league some credit. It appears deeper than in previous seasons – and the top teams are capable of BCS schools. Especially the Pac-10.

New Mexico (10-0) has beaten Cal and Texas A&M. BYU (8-1) has taken down Arizona State. San Diego State (8-2) is coming off a win against Arizona. And UNLV (7-1) has taken down Arizona and Louisville. Heck, even Utah (5-5) has stopped Illinois and Michigan – but lost to Idaho and Seattle.

At this rate, the MWC will give the Pac-10 a run for the No. 6 spot in the overall conference standings. But does that make a stronger statement about the Mountain West or the Pac-10? Check back in March.

In the meantime, here are 5 Things to Watch.

Winless no more?
There are more than 340 D-I basketball schools. Ten have yet to win a game, which makes Saturday a big day.

Three have great chances to end their skids.

Jacksonville is better than their 0-5 mark, at least according to kenpom.com. The Dolphins have lost to FSU, Cal, South Carolina, Florida and to Georgia State. If they don't beat Bethune Cookman on Wednesday, Campbell could be the one on Saturday.

Marist (0-7) plays host to Binghamton, which has beaten just 1 D-I team. Should be good for a win.

Maryland-Baltimore County (0-9) plays at American (1-8), which is essentially a toss-up. The Retrievers have lost three times by five points or less, so maybe they're due.

And what about those unbeatens?
Don't get used to 'em. At least one will lose this week. It'll be like that until we';re down to a couple for 2010.

Michael Thomas/AP

Freshman Avery Bradley has helped Texas to an 8-0 start.

The 11 remaining are: Georgetown (8-0), Kansas (9-0), Kentucky (10-0), Missouri State (9-0), New Mexico (10-0), Purdue (9-0), Seton Hall (8-0), Syracuse (10-0), Texas (8-0), Texas Tech (9-0) and West Virginia (7-0).

The Jayhawks and Longhorns are getting to the meat of their schedules (more on that in a bit), while Seton Hall (vs. Temple), Texas Tech (at Wichita State) and New Mexico (vs. Creighton) have tough matchups.

Taking aim at No. 1 and 2
Top-ranked Kansas welcomes Michigan on Saturday, which will be the most talented and toughest opponent in Allen Fieldhouse thus far this season. Manny Harris and the Wolverines (4-4) have disappointed thus far, but they promise to be an interesting test for KU.

Harris is the kind of do-it-all player that can carry a team, while John Beilein's idiosyncratic schemes are tough for team who rarely see them. Then again, there's a reason why Kansas wins by more than 40 points at home.

Texas, however, has a different challenge.

It'll play North Carolina at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, which will be unlike anything the 'Horns have seen this season. Forget Pitt and Iowa. The Heels are long, athletic and fast – exactly like the Longhorns.

It'll be a Final Four worthy game in a Final Four worthy setting.

Don't call it a mid-major showdown
Xavier plays at Butler on Saturday (yes, for those keeping track, it's a great day for hoops), though I'm loathe to call it the mid-major showdown of the year simply because neither school likes that term.

ANYWAY, both schools could use the win. Xavier (6-3) got a big win vs. cross-town rival Cincinnati on Sunday, and Butler (7-3) is coming off a win over Ohio State, but every little bit will count with the NCAA tournament seeding committee because neither is a lock.

Louisville's seeing red
Speaking the seeding committee, the Cardinals (5-3) are coming off back-to-back losses to Charlotte and Western Carolina, both at home. Those are gonna hurt when March rolls around.

And with games against Oral Roberts (6-4, and coming off a win vs. Missouri) and Western Kentucky (5-3, just beat Vandy) this week, Rick Pitino's squad could easily be .500 with just two more games before Big East play begins.

A poor season isn't something Pitino can stomach this season.

Mike Miller writes 5 Things to Watch every Sunday. He's on Twitter every day @BeyndArcMMiller.

Want to watch a game at the Dean Dome? Don't get on Roy Williams' bad side.

And that means no yelling during free throws. A fan was booted from North Carolina's 103-64 win against Presbyterian Saturday for doing just that to Deon Thompson.

The fan, sitting about 20 rows behind the UNC bench, apparently yelled out "Don't miss it, Deon!" Williams turned, looked at the fan and security officers escorted him out soon after. Video of it is here.

Williams and UNC tried to downplay it. The school said that security officers indicated the fan appeared intoxicated, wasn't in his ticketed seat and had been asked to move earlier.

"Let's don't make it a bigger thing than it is," Williams said. "I just don't think anybody should yell negative things toward our players that come in on our tickets to watch our game."

That leads me to believe that the area behind the UNC is allocated from big boosters or players' friends and family. Not opposing fans.

And it made his players chuckle.

Carolina players laughed about their coach's blow up.
"That's some head honcho stuff right there," said point guard Larry Drew II.
Added Thompson: "That's a lot of pull around here, huh? To get somebody kicked out of a game. That's pretty impressive."
Asked whether he was surprised by Williams' reaction, Thompson shook his head.
"Nah, that's typical coach."

Still, it's kind of a harsh move, right? UNC gets to make the rules at their place, but this reeks of an overly aggressive, overly protective coach who probably shouldn't have been worried about a Presbyterian fan.

As one blogger framed it "Heckling? At a basketball game? Lord no!"

Big picture, it's not a big deal. Schools decide what's OK at their arenas. But man, I'm just glad Bonnie Bernstein didn't interview him about it afterward.

(H/T: The Dagger)

Wondering if Mike Miller every loses his cool on Twitter? Check him out at @BeyndArcMMiller.

Comparison I never thought I'd see: ACC basketball is resembling ACC football.

That's from the Charlotte Observer's Ken Tysiac, who was lamenting the conference's latest representation in the AP poll.

Just three teams are ranked – No. 8 Duke, No. 11 North Carolina and No. 24 Georgia Tech – which only adds to the hurt from the recent loss in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the first time that's happened to the ACC in the event's 10-year history.

Richard Shiro/AP

Trevor Booker and Clemson are 7-2, which is hardly reason to complain.

Is the comparison too much? Without a doubt.

Perhaps the ACC isn't crushing teams right now, but it's far from what the league is in football. (Is embarrassing the right word? Georgia Tech and Clemson don't fit that description, but everyone else … yeesh.)

To sum up:

Duke and Carolina remain the class of the conference, but both have issues. The Devils lack guard depth and inside muscle, while the Heels are young and inconsistent. December is too early to measure how good they really are, though why anyone would shrug off Duke is beyond me.

As for the rest, Clemson (7-2) isn't getting its due (losses to Texas A&M and Illinois are perfectly acceptable), Georgia Tech is doing quite well, Miami (8-1) just suffered its first loss, Florida State (7-2) has only lost at unbeaten Florida and at Ohio State (when the Buckeyes still have Evan Turner). And Virginia Tech (7-1) is doing exactly what it should.

If I had to guess, ACC football would kill for those kinds of records…

In a season like this, where we're still learning who the true contenders are from the pretenders, it's way too early to declare the conference without any talent at the top. Especially with Duke and Carolina up there. March is still 3 months away, right?

Did you know you can follow Mike Miller on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.? It's true!

Minnesota's still waiting on its top newcomers to play a game this season.

And it doesn't sound like that's going to change anytime soon.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith sounded optimistic a couple of weeks ago that Trevor Mbakwe, a 6-8, 240-pound JUCO transfer, would have his off-court issues resolved. But a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune indicates otherwise. The Miami district attorney's office will proceed with felony battery charges against him and expect to establish a trial date early next year.

"Absolutely NO TRUTH to the rumor(s) you are hearing," a source told the paper. "[Prosecutors in the case] are proceeding with [the] deposition schedule of the defense witnesses in preparation for trial."

Meanwhile, freshman Royce White still isn't out of Smith's doghouse. He's sidelined indefinitely with legal issues, stemming from a shoplifting incident in October. University police also list him as a possible suspect in an on-campus burglary.

Oddly enough, the only news regarding White recently was a tweet – which turned out to be a whole lot of nothing. Just him shooting baskets and lifting weights. It wasn't even close to this build-up.

" ' ';x'REAL Royce White Story' From me. Coming 10pm Youtube tonight. 100% truth since nobody else wants to. Immm Back!!!"

Royce, are you familiar with the term "false advertising?"

Mike Miller never tweets about videos, just hoops. Follow him at @BeyndArcMMiller.