The Streak

The blog streak is alive and well. 16-for-16 and 17 in a row. Unfortunately for Pitt basketball, they are streaking in the wrong direction. The Panthers are 0-5 in the Big East and have lost 6 in a row overall. Not very Pitt-like in the basketball world, especially since they were preseason #10 in the AP Poll. Tonight, they have a tough test at #1 Syracuse.

But, we're not here to pile on to Pitt. Here's an update on my three basketball teams as I move past the football season:

Arizona (12-6, 3-2 in Pac-12). The Wildcats haven't lived up to their preseason AP #16 billing. They lost one of the best players, Derrick Williams, in all of college basketball last year to the NBA, so Sean Miller's young team is still finding its way. They've got some work to do, but with a strong finish should make it to the NCAA Tournament.

Davidson (12-4, 6-0 in Southern Conference). These Wildcats look like they may have the giant-killer ability back this year. In addition to leading #6 Duke at halftime at Cameron Indoor Stadium (lost 82-69) in November, they took out #11 Kansas 80-74 in St. Louis in December. It will be a matter of taking care of business in the Southern Conference over the next two months in preparation for the NCAA Tournament. Also a western PA guy, Tom Droney from Sewickley Academy, is in the rotation.

Penn State (9-10, 1-5 in Big Ten). When you lose three of your top four players from an NCAA bubble team, usually things don't go well. And, that's what's happening in Happy Valley. While they did score a nice 65-45 win against Purdue, they have lost to the likes of #2 Kentucky (down 47-15 at halftime), smaller in-state foes (St. Joe's, Lafayette and Duquesne) and all but one Big Ten game. This will be a rough winter for first-year coach Patrick Chambers. On a bright note, Tim Frazier is having an "all-conference" type year, but he's not getting much help.

So, that's where things stand. Time to shift into college hoops mode.