The headline news is no doubt that BYU will become the nation's best independent football program (although Navy certainly has claim to that), but nestled in there is that BYU will leave the Mountain West in all other sports and join, not the WAC as previously reported, but the WCC.

The immediate repurcussions in this is now Gonzaga has a legitimate fight on its hands to win the conference every year, as BYU was one of the best teams in the country last year, led by one of the best players in Jimmer Fredette. Fortunately for Gonzaga and St. Marys Fredette will be gone when BYU makes the move next season, but Tanner Haws and Noah Hartsock will still be around, making BYU one of the best teams in the conference.

For now Gonzaga still has the upperhand on the WCC, but it will be interesting to see what five years or so down the road brings. BYU is coming from the better conference, but they might get a recruiting boost from kids who want to play against Gonzaga twice per year.

Michigan State point guard Korie Lucious was arrested at 2:20 AM on Monday morning on a drunken driving charge, according to The Detroit News. Lucious blew a .09, above the legal limit of .08, but pre-empting that is the fact that Lucious is not yet 21, the legal drinking age in Michigan.

Lucious was 2nd on the team with 44 three pointers made, though he was just 4th on the team percentage wise, shooting 31.7%. He played in just over half the teams minutes, and had a pretty non-descript season: he had just a 44.9% eFG, and although he had a high assist rate (25%), he turned it over even more (27.7%).

If Lucious were to be suspended for any length of time, it likely would simply create depth issues for the Spartans, who would have to lean more heavily on Freshman Keith Appling (though it is certainly reasonable to say that Appling would likely get more PT than Lucious anyways).

This news comes a little over a month after reports that Chris Allen was dismissed from the team for failure to meet obligations set by Tom Izzo.

Michigan State will have to learn to play without Lucious and Allen quickly, as they take part in a pretty loaded Maui Invitational field this year.

Will Barton was ranked as the #1 shooting guard in the 2010 class. He was the crown jewel of Memphis's much ballyhooed recruiting class. But unfortunately for Josh Pastner, Barton was ruled academically ineligible and won't be suiting up for Memphis.

In the old days, Barton would have skipped college altogether but thanks to the horrible rule that says players must be one year removed from their graduation to enter the NBA draft, Barton is stuck in a year of limbo.

Although Brandon Jennings succeeded in Europe, Barton should be, and probably will be, headed to the D League.

With the help that Latavious Williams got, the D League is undoubtedly the best choice for Barton. Rather than going over to Europe where he will have to fight for playing time on a veteran laden squad, and play for coaches more concerned with wins than player development, he will go to a league where coaches concentrate on him as an individual and not only will he become a more mature person, he will become a much better player.

If Barton plays in the D League and ends up being a high first round pick in 2011 - which he probably will be - the D League will be immediately legitimized as an option for players not wanting to pursue college basketball. Barton's game seems to be crafted for the up and down style of the D League: he plays very up-tempo, is great running the floor, and at 6'6" he can finish in traffic. While I am a college basketball fan, I really hope Barton ends up in the D League, which would then open it up to more and more talents not wanting to go through the charade of academia.

With the bracket for the Maui Invitational being released today, we are one step closer to the start of the college basketball season.

Wichita State and UConn will kick it off, followed by Michigan State meeting host Chaminade. The night games will be Oklahoma v. Kentucky and Kentucky v. Washington.

A Kentucky v. Michigan State championship game is most likely, and would be an awesome early season game.

For the full bracket you can go to the Maui Invitational site and click on 2010 Bracket

Slowly heading towards the ends of our top ten preview series, today we look at the Duke Blue Devils. My apologies on the delay, family emergencies had me working double shifts at a restaurant.

Last Season: 35-5, tied for 1st regular season ACC, ACC Champions, NCAA Champions*

Returning Contributors: Kyle Singler (116.2 ORtg, .399 3pt), Nolan Smith (114.2 ORtg, .392 3pt), Miles Plumlee (22.5 DR%), Andre Dawkins (.379 3pt), Mason Plumlee

Key Losses: Jon Scheyer (127.0 ORtg, 91.9% mins, .383 3pt, 25.8 ARate, 11.4 TORate), Brian Zoubek (21.4 OR%, 24.8% DR), Lance Thomas (defensive stopper)

Newcomers: Seth Curry (transfer from Liberty, lead all NCAA freshmen in ppg in 2008-09, shooting 48.8% from the floor, 34.7% from 3pt and 83.2% from the line), Kyrie Irving (5 star PG, led US U-18 to gold), Joshua Hairston (4 star PF, helped US win U-18 gold), Tyler Thornton (3 star PG, finished ahead of UNC's 4 star recruit Kendall Marshall in DC regional awards**)

Potential Marquee Nonconference Games: Michigan State (ACC-Big10 Challenge), Marquette (neutral, CBE semifinals), Kansas State/Gonzaga (potential CBE finals), Oregon (Rose Garden, Portland OR), Butler (Izod Center, Meadowlands NJ)

Outlook: Let's face it, this Duke team lost a lot to graduation this year.  Jon Scheyer posted outstanding tempo free stats (127 o rating- 10th in the nation- while averaging 37 minutes/game is downright ridiculous) and played the PG position better than any other person in the NCAA this year (John Wall...not a great point guard yet).  Brian Zoubek only managed to morph into the best rebounder in the nation this season, and Lance Thomas guarded the other team's best player regardless of position and was the emotional leader of this national championship team.  So yes, Duke lost 3 guys that were irreplaceable during the NCAA run.  So why are Duke fans so giddy about the 2010-11 season?  Because this year's team is arguably more talented than last year's team...when's the last time you could say that about a defending national champion that lost 3 starters?

To start off, Duke returns two of their three major contributors from last year.  While the law firm of Scheyer, Singler and Smith did lose the lead partner, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith give Duke more than enough offensive firepower to blitz the ACC.  Singler, the reigning Final Four MOP, is a particular boon to Duke, because he is a match up problem for every team in the country.  He played primarily on the perimeter last year, but can easily take his man down low if he has a height advantage.  Nolan Smith, the regional MOP after torching Baylor,  showcased an array of shots last year, including a nice runner in the lane, to go along with his outstanding shooting beyond the arc.  He also improved tremendously on defense last year, locking down some of the better perimeter guards Duke faced last year.

Replacing Jon Scheyer is a tough task, but from all indications Kyrie Irving will be more than able to become the next great Duke point guard.  For all of Scheyer's pluses, the fact remains that last year's Duke team was extremely slow, averaging 65.5 possessions/game...which is actually understating how slow Duke was.  In the NCAA tournament, Duke averaged 60.2 possessions/game...extremely slow by any standard (except maybe Wisconsin's).  It worked, because Duke was so efficient that if they had a lead with 5 minutes left, it was game over.  However, this year's team will be much, much faster due to Mr. Irving's prodigious talents.  Coach K has already been on record stating that Duke will be pushing the tempo this year, and as Luke Winn points out, Duke under Coach K has varied its tempo based on personnel (unlike a certain coach down 15-501).    Also helping out in the increased tempo movement will be the Plumlee brothers.  Tagged a freshman starter before the season, Mason Plumlee broke his wrist during preseason practice, stunting his growth and ceding his starting spot to Lance Thomas.  Miles Plumlee started out the season at a starter, but Brian Zoubek's outstanding rebounding eventually supplanted Miles as a starter.  Both Plumlees look to be major contributors this year, and add speed and athleticism to the 4 and 5 spots that will be much appreciated.

Of course, Irving and Smith won't have to carry the backcourt load by themselves this year, thanks to a bench that will include Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry.  Dawkins graduated early from high school to help Duke's backcourt depth last year, and ending up having an up and down season (due in part to the untimely death of his sister while on route to watch Dawkins play).  However, Dawkins did play a vital role in last year's run, especially in the Baylor game where he hit two key threes to keep Duke in range of Baylor.  He'll be joined on the bench by the transfer Seth Curry.  Little brother to Stephen Curry, Seth experienced the same lack of interest from BCS schools and ended up at Liberty, where he only led all freshman in the NCAA in scoring.  Last year, he helped lead the U-19's to gold, and torched his fellow Duke guards in practice while running the scout team.  Dawkins and Curry will provide immediate offensive punch off the bench, and Dawkins showed last year that he can play the three if Singler gets into foul trouble.  Tyler Thornton will probably play a limited role as a freshman, as he is projected to be a four year player.  The frontcourt depth isn't in as good a shape as the backcourt, but there is some potential at Coach K's disposal.  After the Plumlees, Ryan Kelly and Josh Hairston are the other two options.  Kelly was slowed last year due a bout of mono before the season started, but has put on weight and still has the stroke that won the McDonald's three point contest.  He'll spell Mason at the 4, and could play some 3 for Singler.  Hairston is a traditional back to the basket player that did a lot of dirty work for the golden U-18's in San Antonio this summer.  Look for him to continue that effort this season off the bench, emulating Thomas and Zoubek's efforts last year.

So Duke lost a bunch, and gained a bunch...what does it all mean?  Well...for starters, Duke will be the most versatile team in the nation.  Coach K will have so many different lineups to throw at opposing teams that Duke will be nearly impossible to scout.  The projected starting team of Irving, Smith, Singler, Plumlee and Plumlee will be fast and big, but K could bring Curry off the bench, shift Singler and Mason to the 4 and 5, Miles to the bench and voila, you have a perfect team for the dribble drive offense Coach K ran during the Jason Williams era, with each player being able to drive or shoot against his man.  End game free throw shooting situations?  Dawkins and Kelly on, Plumlees off and now you have 5 80+% free throw shooters on the court.  I could go on and on...but you get the point.  Oh, did I forget to mention that the man with those lineup options only happens to be the best college basketball coach in the business?  I mean, yes 6 Final Fours in 12 years is nice, but it's nothing compared to the sustained brilliance of Coach K's 30 years of excellence.  Titles in three decades, all time NCAA tournament wins, and gold medal coach...K is the best in the business, and he's not slowing down one iota.  Bottom line: Duke will be insanely good next year, and anything less than a return trip to the Final Four will be a disappointment.  While that seems like a lot of pressure to put on a team that lost three senior starters, I think they'll be more than up to the task.  I expect Coach K to be cutting down the nets for the 5th time come next April.

* suck it, bitches.

**yes, you read that right...Duke's backup point guard recruit is better than UNC's "savior" at the point.

The NCAA finally got one right. Instead of making the SWAC and NEC winners meet and the Patriot and America East winners meet just to make it into the tournament, the NCAA instead revealed that the last four at-larges will meet for the right to play in the NCAA tournament. After months of super expansion talk this is one huge sigh of relief. Committee chair Dan Guerrerro said that whichever seed the final at-large teams earned would be determined at the time of the bracket, rather than being a set seed. This means that two 12s could meet for the right to play a 5, or two 11s could meet for the right to play a 6.

The two obvious problems this format raises is the NCAA tournament committee is rewarding teams for winning their conference tournaments a disproportional amount: no team, no matter how bad, that wins their conference tournament will be in the play-in game. That means no under .500 Florida A&M, and it means no team such as when Georgia went on their SEC tournament run will be subjected to the play-in game. It also means that if the final at-larges end up being 11 seeds the 6th seeded teams will have an advantage that 5 seeds do not. Still, both of these are minor problems and the NCAA should be commended for this format.

The full story is at ESPN.

We're almost done! Today we have a guest blogger, Sparty from Sparty and Friends, to look at our #3 team, the Michigan State Spartans. Take it away, Sparty:

Well, that was one helluva an offseason for the Michigan State Spartans.  Now that Tom Izzo has decided that he is a lifer in East Lansing, Sparty can once again focus on trying to claim National Title #3.

Last season, the Spartans returned to the Final Four in Indianapolis, one year after playing in the National Title game in Detroit.  It was Michigan State’s 6th Final Four appearance in the past 12 years.  However, they would come up short, losing by 2 points to runner-up Butler in the national semifinal. Though the Spartans were favored at the start of last season to reach Indy, not many thought the same when the tournament actually began, and those feelings were magnified after Kalin Lucas injured himself against Maryland in the 2nd round of the tournament.

Fortunately for Michigan State, the only productive player not returning from last year's team, at this point, is Raymar Morgan.  Lucas and Durrell Summers made the decision to return for their senior seasons.  Lucas, when healthy, is usually the best player on the counrt.  Summers is coming off an amazing run in March for the 2nd year in a row, and if he can continue to build off that,  Houston should definitely be in the plans for the Izzone.  If Chris Allen decides to stay on campus, which seems to be up in the air at this point, the Spartans will be returning 4 of their top 5 scorers from a season ago.  However, the bulk of these players are perimeter players, and with Michigan State, it was feast or famine when it came to scoring points last season due to their lack of interior scoring. This is a problem...although Izzo would like to run, his team is one of the slower, more deliberate teams of the power schools. The Spartans ranked 50th in offensive efficiency on top of that. Super 6th man, Draymond Green, is their lone productive offensive interior threat, but trying to count on a 6’6” PF (probably more like 6’4”) to be your best post player is not encouraging.   Delvon Roe is a scapper who can also bring tough defense and offensive rebounding (10.7%), but hasn’t brought the explosive offense that he was recruited for a couple years ago.  Then again, Roe hasn’t had the same knees as he did prior to signing his LOI.  Korie Lucious is the last key member returning from a year ago. But, though he filled in admirably for Lucas during the tournament, including one of the most dramatic shots in school history, Lucious has to improve his ball handling and decision making...and he will need to if the Spartans hope to improve on the previous year's finish.

Duncanville, TX point guard Deion Jackson-Houston was killed over the weekend in Oklahoma where he was visiting family. The 17 year old's Chevy Impala was struck by a train at a crossing. The train dragged the car roughly two blocks. Jackson-Houston had virtually no external injuries, but his ribs had caved in and punctured a lung, and he had bleeding in the back of his brain.

He died about 15 minutes after arriving at the Oklahoma University medical center. Perhaps the worst part of this tragedy is it could have been avoided: the intersection where he was hit by the train was an unprotected one. There was no guard rail and no blinking lights to warn cars of oncoming trains.

Jackson-Houston played for the AAU team "Texas Bluechips." He was recruited by several major schools, including Kansas State and Baylor, and got offers from FIU, Georgia State, North Texas, SMU and TCU.

Apologies for the huge gap in time between posts, but today we continue our look at the top 10 with our #4 team, the Kansas State Wildcats.

The Kansas State Wildcats didn't get much in the way of impact recruits this year, but they don't need them. Although Denis Clemente is gone, the Wildcats return 4 of their best 5 players. Leading the way will be Senior guard Jacob Pullen. Pullen is a very good shooter, making nearly 40% of his threes, but I would argue that defensively he isn't the full package, but he does lead the team in steal rate. Pullen does a good job at getting to the foul line (6.5 times per 40) and shoots free throws well (82%).

But Kansas State's power is all inside. The Wildcats ended up being the 6th best offensive rebounding team in the country. Although they didn't have a DeMarcus Cousins type offensive rebounder, they had a lot of contributors, including Curtis Kelly (10.8%), Dominique Sutton (11.4%) and Wally Judge (11.3%). The Wildcats also excelled at getting to the line as a whole, as their FTA/FGA was 4th best in the country. Unfortunately for them, they weren't able to cash in on those opportunities very often, as they shot just 66.9% from the line, good (or bad) for 241st overall.

The Wildcats played at a fairly quick pace, about 3 possessions more than the national average, and they were able to turn opponents over (23.6%, 24th) without turning it over themselves very often (20.3%, 163rd). The anti-Michigan State of sorts.

The Wildcats were generally an inexperienced bunch last year, but with 4 starters coming back plus Judge, who, although he didn't have a large bulk of minutes sure played some important ones, the Wildcats will be one of the more experienced teams out there.

Two things that could potentially trip them up: The Wildcats gave just under 30% of their minutes to their bench last year, good for 213th nationally. Judge seems due for a minutes boost, as does Sophomore Rodney McGruder, who could potentially solve problem 2: replacing Denis Clemente. There's no doubt Clemente was the emotional leader of the team, but McGruder played well in limited playing time: he shot the three well (42% on 43 attempts ) and was a capable rebounder (9.8%/14.8%). His maturity could put Kansas State over the hump as far as a national title is concerned, but it is the play of Pullen as well as whether or not Kansas State can keep winning the turnover battle that will determine  how far they go in 2011.