Gary Parrish

AUSTIN, Texas -- Bad weather has made my trip to Michigan State impossible.

So the second game of my three-games-in-three-days trip is off.

I'm stuck in Austin.

Thus, I'll miss tonight's Purdue-Michigan State game, but I'll still be at Duke-North Carolina on Wednesday. The plan is to stay the night here, then fly to UNC early tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be accepting recommendations on good spots in Austin to watch Purdue-Michigan State, and dreading a 5 a.m. wake-up call that will most certainly be miserable.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Here's Tuesday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: This Texas team reminds me a lot of last year's Wake Forest squad.  Both made it to mid/late January without a loss and were ranked No. 1.  Both had a player that was being talked up for Player of the Year (Jeff Teague/Damion James), and both went through a rough stretch in early February. Wake Forest righted the ship at the end of last regular season to win six out of seven.  But then the Demon Deacons flamed out early in the ACC tournament and didn't put up a fight against Cleveland State.  What does Texas need to do to avoid a similar fate?

-- Sean

That's a nice comparison.

I'll add to your details that Wake Forest had the necessary number of pros (Jeff Teague, James Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu) to be great that I always take about, and Texas has a similar number now (Avery Bradley, Damion James, Dexter Pittman). So I think you nailed it, Sean.

What does Texas need to do to avoid a similar fate?

Even though I wasn't blown away by J'Covan Brown's performance (it was mostly just a lot of points in a lopsided game), going with him over Dogus Balbay is a step in the right direction. I like Balbay; he's an awesome guy and good defender. But opposing teams don't even guard him, and you can't play four-on-five on the offensive end. Getting Justin Mason out of the rotation is wise, too. So Barnes is correct to move away from two upperclassmen and more toward his most talented players. But there are still issues, and lots of them.

What's happened to Dexter Pittman?

Why can't Jordan Hamilton play smarter?

Is J'Covan Brown careful enough with the ball to be the primary ball-handler?

These are things that must be addressed, and soon. Otherwise, I can absolutely see this Texas team going the way of last season's Wake Forest team, and that would be too bad because this is a nice collection of talent that doesn't need to be wasted.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Kansas dominated Texas.

Scottie Reynolds closed strong at West Virginia.

Here's Tuesday's What You Need To Know:

Notable game from Monday: Top-ranked Kansas led by double-digits at the half and cruised to an 80-68 win here at Texas that ensured the Jayhawks will take a three-game lead into Saturday's game against Iowa State. Marcus Morris finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists despite dislocating a finger in the first half. Kansas is now 23-1 overall, 9-0 in the Big 12. Texas is 19-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12.

Notable performance from Monday: Scottie Reynolds scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13 minutes to lead Villanova to an 82-75 win at West Virginia. Reynolds, a senior, was 5-of-10 from the field, 10-of-10 from the free throw line.  He's scored at least 15 points in five consecutive games.

Notable game scheduled for Tuesday: Michigan State and Purdue will meet at the Breslin Center. Kalin Lucas is expected to be available, but it's unclear how much he'll be able to play, and how effective he'll be when he's playing considering the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year suffered a sprained ankle in last Tuesday's loss to Wisconsin. MSU is 19-5 overall, 9-2 in the Big Ten and ranked 10th nationally. Purdue is 19-3 overall, 7-3 in the Big Ten and ranked sixth nationally. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET.

Josh Pastner announced Monday that Pierre Henderson-Niles is no longer a Memphis Tiger.

"As I told the team, I have a soft spot for Pierre, and I really want to see him do well," Pastner said. "He's a fine young man, and I am proud of how hard he worked to get in shape to play this season and also how hard he worked in the classroom so that he can graduate in May. Moving forward, we will do all we can for Pierre as he finishes up the academic work toward completing his degree. We wish Pierre nothing but the best."

A source told CBSSports.com that Henderson-Niles' often poor attitude is the root of the problem, but the source still described this development as a "mutual decision." The source insisted there was no off-the-court incident that triggered things.

This leaves Memphis with just one true post player (Will Coleman) for the rest of the season.

The Tigers play UCF on Wednesday night.

AUSTIN, Texas -- We're about to tip here at the Erwin Center.

It's Kansas vs. Texas.

So consider this your pregame Poll Attacks .

AP poll: All I do each Monday is look at the AP poll, find a team getting votes that shouldn't be getting votes, identify the guilty party, write about it, and that's pretty much how the Poll Attacks work.

Simple stuff.

It's not my fault if the guilty party repeats itself week after week after week.

I tell you that because here we are again, back focusing on the Idaho Statesman's Nick Jezierny, a future first-ballot Poll Attacks Hall of Famer. Not only does he have Northern Iowa ranked 12th, which is ridiculous on about 58 different levels, but he also has Wichita State ranked 21st, which is ridiculous on about 158 different levels.

(Let me say this: I don't mind people ranking UNI even though I'm not ranking UNI. No. 12 seems awful high, sure. But whatever. If you're impressed by a team running away with its league and stacking wins even though it lacks quality wins, fine. By now you know I care about quality wins way more than I care about the number of wins, but I recognize not everybody thinks the way I think. So, again, if you want to rank Northern Iowa, rank away. It's a perfectly reasonable thing to do. But Wichita State?)

You can't rank Wichita State.

And this is coming from a guy who likes Gregg Marshall. But the record is the record, and the record is 20-5 with the best win being a home win over a Texas Tech team that's ninth in the Big 12. Meantime, two of the losses are to Creighton (12-12) and Drake (11-14). So how Nick can look at Wichita State and see a team that should be ranked 21st is beyond me. But I gave up trying to make sense of this stuff long ago. Now I just poke fun at it.

Coaches poll: It's OK to not rank a C-USA school; I don't have one ranked either. But if you're going to put a C-USA school on your ballot, shouldn't it be the school that's leading C-USA? Of course it should! But somehow the coaches gave UAB seven points, Tulsa four and first-place UTEP zero despite the fact that UTEP won at UAB two weekends ago and beat Tulsa by 14 points last weekend.

(Couldn't Tulsa's Doug Wojcik at least put the Miners at No. 25?)

UTEP is 17-5 overall with an 8-1 league record, and yet the coaches have the Miners as C-USA's third-best team. It's crazy. And if I live to be 167 I still won't know how Tulsa is getting votes. Sure, the 18-5 record looks nice. But the best win is against Oklahoma State, and three of the losses are to Missouri State, Nebraska and Nevada.

Thus, Tulsa shouldn't appear on anybody's ballot.

And they sure as heck shouldn't appear on a ballot that doesn't also include UTEP.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said this morning that it remains unclear whether point guard Kalin Lucas will be available for Tuesday's showdown with Purdue.

Lucas sprained his ankle in last week's loss to Wisconsin.

He did not play Saturday night at Illinois.

The Spartans (19-5 overall, 9-2 in the Big Ten) are still in first place in the league standings, but their two-game losing streak has allowed Wisconsin (18-5, 8-3), Ohio State (18-6, 8-3), Illinois (16-8, 8-3) and Purdue (19-3, 7-3) to pull to just one game back in the loss column.

Lucas is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year.

He's averaging 15.6 points and 4.0 assists per game.

The Top 25 (and one) will be updated on the college basketball page shortly.

Here's how it will look ...

1. Kansas
2. Syracuse
3. Kentucky
4. Villanova
5. Purdue
6. West Virginia
7. Kansas State
8. Georgetown
9. Wisconsin
10. Duke
11. Michigan State
12. Ohio State
13. Texas
14. Tennessee
15. New Mexico
16. Gonzaga
17. Temple 
18. Texas A&M
19. Baylor
20. Vanderbilt
21. Pittsburgh
22. Ole Miss
23. Butler
24. Georgia Tech
25. Wake Forest
26. UNLV

Super Bowl Sunday is a massive gambling day.

This, you know.

But did you know you can tie it to college basketball, too?

Sportsbook.com has tons of Super Bowl/College Basketball prop bets.

Like ...

• Peyton Manning completions vs. Evan Turner points

(Manning completions is -5.5)

• Dallas Clark receiving yards vs. Ohio State points

(OSU points is -3.5)

• Saints and Colts combined first half points vs. Wesley Johnson points plus rebounds

(Saints and Colts combined first half points is -2.5)

• Reggie Wayne longest reception vs. Greivis Vasquez points plus assists

(Greivis Vasquez points plus assists is -0.5)

Anyway, there are many more. Put me down for Evan Turner points +5.5, Dallas Clark receiving yards +3.5, Saints and Colts combined first half points -2.5 and Reggie Wayne longest reception +0.5. As for the game, I'll take ...

Colts 34, Saints 24

But keep in mind that I know very little about the NFL.

Ohio State's Evan Turner Tweeted moments after the game went final.

Big Ten title is up for grabs!

Yes it is, Evan.

And how did we get here?

Michigan State was 9-0 in the Big Ten and in possession of a three-game lead in the league standings just five days ago. But the Spartans lost at Wisconsin on Tuesday and at Illinois late Saturday, and now the Big Ten is, like Turner said, up for grabs. There's essentially a four-way tie for second considering Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State all have three league losses, and that three-game lead Michign State owned is now just a one-game lead heading into Tuesday's showdown with Purdue.

And Kalin Lucas still has a bad ankle.

Which is obviously at the root of what's happening.

I won't go so far as to say Michigan State would've won at Wisconsin if not for Lucas' injury because, well, I don't believe that. But I do think it's fair to suggest the Spartans would be at little risk to lose the Big Ten title if not for Lucas' sprained ankle. As it is, there's a real risk, and these next few weeks are going to be wild.

Michigan State is 9-2.

Wisconsin and Illinois are 8-3.

Purdue and Ohio State are 7-3.

"Big Ten title is up for grabs," Tweeted Turner.

Yes it is, Evan.

Now let's see who grabs it.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- I'm about to head to FedExForum for Gonzaga-Memphis.

Would you believe the Tigers are a 5-point favorite at Sportsbook.com?

It's possible oddsmakers weren't impressed with the 17th-ranked Zags' 76-49 win over Portland late Thursday, but the fact that that game was played late Thursday probably has more to do with the line. Gonzaga-Portland tipped at 10 p.m. CT, and the Zags didn't get out of the arena until around 1 a.m. CT. What followed was a short night of rest, an early workout, a flight across time zones from Spokane to Memphis, and now they've got an afternoon game in a hostile environment that'll feature 18,000 fans cheering against them.

"It's not ideal," Gonzaga coach Mark Few told me yesterday, and he's right. But this is the kind of thing a power non-BCS program does in the spirit of exposure and quality non-league games. So the Zags will be there in search of their first win at FedExForum, but going forward it would be nice if the WCC would move Gonzaga's league game immediately before the Memphis game back a day to Wednesday, that way the conference's flagship program could battle C-USA's flagship program on more of a level playing field.

Here's Friday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: I'm a lifetime fan of both WVU football and basketball. There are no words that we Mountaineer fans can say to offset the disrespect (some fans are showing to) oppossing teams, staff and trainers. Mountaineer fans do not accept this this type of behavor as the norm. Bodily harm nor verbal attacts should be accepted. Cursing in a public forum should not be tolereated. Men, women and children are present at our venues and this has to be stopped. It's embarrasing to us all. We all share a dislike for Pitt, but there's a difference between passion for your team and down right stupidity.

-- Robert

This email should serve as a good reminder that though the West Virginia fans are getting blasted for the way they've behaved, the majority of West Virginia fans are just as bothered by recent developments as the rest of the country. Sure, some of the WVU fans are idiots; that's clear. But most are not, and Robert -- a lifetime WVU fan -- seems to be in the not-an-idiot group. There are thousands more like him. That's important to remember.

Arizona will reduce the number of future scholarships, July recruiting days and official visits the men's basketball program can use because of recruiting violations tied to an AAU tournament held on its campus while Lute Olson was still the coach, according to a report by Jeff Goodman at FoxSports.com.

An official announcement could come Friday.

Arizona reported a potential violation in 2008 after Olson, now retired, sent a letter to booster club officials asking them to financially support the Cactus Classic -- an AAU tournament that was held at the McKale Center for three consecutive Mays. The event brought many of the nation's top prospects to the Arizona campus and was thus regarded as a major recruiting tool for the Wildcats.

The letter to boosters had Olson's electronic signature on it.

Still, the Hall of Fame coach denied ever seeing or approving the letter.

Sean Miller now coaches Arizona.

Nobody on his staff was involved in this matter.

The Wildcats are 12-10 overall, 6-4 in the Pac-10 in Miller's first season.

Maryland won at FSU.

Luke Harangody dominated Cincinnati.

Here's Friday's What You Need To Know:

Notable game from Thursday: Greivis Vasquez scored 21 points to lead Maryland to a 71-67 win at Florida State that moved the Terrapins to 15-6 overall, 5-2 in the ACC. Maryland is one of three teams with just two ACC losses; the others are Duke and Virginia.

Notable performance from Thursday: Luke Harangody took 25 shots, made 15 and finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds in Notre Dame's 83-65 win over Cincinnati. Harangody has scored at least 14 points in every game this season. The effort pushed the Irish to 16-7 overall, 5-5 in the Big East. Cincinnati is 14-8 overall, 5-5 in the Big East.

Notable game scheduled for the weekend: Villanova and Georgetown will play in Saturday's only matchup of ranked teams. No. 2 Villanova is 20-1 overall, 9-0 in the Big East. No. 7 Georgetown is 16-5 overall, 6-4 in the Big East. Tip-off is set for noon ET.

Michael Rothstein of AnnArbor.com has posted the results of his second Player of the Year poll.

Click this link to check it out.

Forty-eight college basketball writers -- myself included -- listed our top three in order.

My top three were:

1. John Wall (Kentucky)
2. Evan Turner (Ohio State)
3. Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)

And that's exactly the order of the top three of the poll.

Wall got 25 first-place votes while Turner got 18.

Scottie Reynolds (Villanova) and Damion James (Texas) rounded out the top five.

Sherron Collins (Kansas) -- with one first-place vote -- was sixth.

Here's Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Is last night's behavior typical of the West Virginia fan base? You ever been hit with a coin in the face (at WVU or anywhere)?

-- J.D.

I don't know what's typical; I've only been to WVU once. But I will say the West Virginia fans have been getting a lot of attention lately -- first for cursing at Ohio State's Evan Turner, then for taking the "Karen Sypher" chants directed at Louisville's Rick Pitino to another level, then for throwing stuff on the court during Wednesday night's win over Pittsburgh.

If you didn't hear, Pitt assistant Tom Herrion was hit in the face with a quarter.

(I've got a column going up on this a little later on, by the way.)

Honestly, I don't mine chants, and I make that point in the column. Sticks and stones and all that. But throwing stuff -- especially solid objects like coins -- is inexcusable and unacceptable, and rules should be in place to help stop this because asking Bob Huggins to demand it on the microphone clearly does no good. My suggestion (and, again, this is all in the column) would be to expel students who throw things on the court or rush the court. Make the penalty for such actions stiff enough to where people are scared to even try it. Do that, and we'll avoid a nightmare of a moment that is almost certainly on the way. Don't do that, and the Ron Artest fight in Detroit will soon have its college basketball equivalent.

As for me, no, I've never been hit with anything.

But who would want to hit me?