All season long, Insider will be keeping a close eye on teams from conferences that have not usually produced multiple NCAA tournament bids to see which squads outside of the spotlight look the strongest come tournament time. In this edition, we focus on the Missouri Valley and a sleeper team in the West Coast Conference.
To see how the Mid-Major Power Rankings stack up and to get early insight into potential March upsets, you must be an ESPN Insider.MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said he expects point guard Blake Hoffarber's sore left knee to be fine for the Golden Gophers' game against Illinois on Thursday.
Smith spoke to reporters during the Big Ten teleconference Monday. Hoffarber is receiving treatment on the bursa sac behind his left knee, the coach said. Hoffarber limped through the second half of Sunday's loss to top-ranked Ohio State with a brace on his knee.
Hoffarber leads the Gophers with 14.2 points per game. But he is playing out of position, having moved from his natural shooting guard to point guard to take over for the injured Al Nolen.
Smith said Hoffarber is "carrying a major load" and may be getting worn down by all the minutes he has been playing.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said guard Ravern Johnson has been suspended indefinitely.
Johnson, a 6-foot-7 senior, is averaging a team-leading 17.7 points per game. He was suspended for Saturday's 58-57 win over LSU because of "inappropriate tweets" that were critical of his role with the team and of fans after the Bulldogs' 75-61 loss to Alabama on Feb. 2. Johnson scored 10 points in the loss to the Tide.
Now Stansbury said Johnson also is facing a suspension for violating the school's class attendance policy. Johnson still will be able to practice with the team.
"He'll make the decision if and when he ever plays," Stansbury said. "... Actions speak louder than words. We'll see. He seems to be very remorseful for things. But there's accountability if you don't do things right."
Johnson also missed a game against Alabama State on Dec. 14 due to an academic suspension.
Johnson started the season as one of the SEC's most prolific scorers, averaging more than 23 points per game over his first eight games. But his role in the offense has gradually diminished, especially after starters Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney returned to the lineup in January.
In seven conference games, he's averaged just 13.1 points per game on 36.1 percent shooting, including 26.1 percent from 3-point range. He ranks third in school history with 228 3-pointers.
Mississippi State (12-10, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) hosts Arkansas (14-8, 4-5) on Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs are currently second in the Western Division, three games behind Alabama.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State hopes to get leading rebounder Jeff Brooks back within the week from a dislocated right shoulder.
The 6-foot-8 forward hurt the shoulder during last week's 68-51 loss at Illinois. He was in uniform Sunday but did not play in the 65-62 home loss to Michigan.
Coach Ed DeChellis said Monday that Brooks was working out and doing light basketball drills, though he might not be a full go at practice until trainers were satisfied with the level of strength in the shoulder.
DeChellis said the timeline could be between three and seven days. The next game for Penn State (12-10, 5-6) is Thursday at Michigan State (13-10, 5-6).
Brooks averages 7.2 rebounds. He's also Penn State's second-leading scorer (13.2 points) and best interior defender.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
Michigan State and North Carolina are moving forward with plans to play a basketball game aboard an aircraft carrier on Veterans' Day.
Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said Tuesday night that the long-discussed game is to take place this year in San Diego's harbor. The schools have been working with Morale Entertainment to produce the event, which will include a concert on the converted flight deck.
"We're very pleased with the progress that we've made with the Pentagon, Morale Entertainment and the University of North Carolina," Hollis said. "We've been looking at doing this for eight years to give something back to those who put themselves in harm's way and to the families they leave behind when they're away on duty. We wanted to do something unique that could be shown to troops worldwide on Veteran's Day - 11-11-11 - as a sign of appreciation."
Hollis says organizers are in discussions with television networks and potential sponsors to ensure the event is financially viable.
Hollis said capacity on the carrier will be 6,000 with both schools getting about 500 tickets. The rest will be distributed to enlisted men and women and their families.
Magic Johnson, who led Michigan State to the national championship in 1979, is expected to participate in a basketball clinic for children of troops, possibly with North Carolina legend Michael Jordan.
"I've got Magic confirmed to be a part of it and you can imagine who we're trying to get from the other side," Hollis said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas point guard J'Covan Brown said Friday that he didn't write profane Twitter posts under his account that complained about getting pulled from the No. 3 Longhorns' win over Oklahoma.
Brown said a cousin he declined to identify posted the offending tweets after the game and said he has apologized to his teammates. The Twitter account has been deactivated.
"I've got to take responsibility for all the negative things that he put," on the account, Brown said. "I'm sorry for everything. I learned my lesson. It was a tough lesson to learn ... the Twitter page is gone. He was making me look like a negative person."
Texas (21-3) plays Baylor (16-7) at home on Saturday.
Brown played only 16 minutes and didn't score in the 68-52 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Brown averages 9.0 points and was the catalyst behind a late surge in Texas' 76-60 win over Texas Tech just a few days earlier.
Texas senior forward Gary Johnson said Brown's teammates have accepted his explanation and support him.
"His actions on the court and off the court don't show what was said on his Twitter page," Johnson said. "Obviously, he's the most unselfish player on this team. He sacrifices a lot day in and day out for this team."
A gifted offensive player who sometimes dazzles, Brown also has drawn attention for his visible frustration a few times this season when coach Rick Barnes has pulled him off the court.
Barnes said the coach and player talked about the Twitter posts on the plane ride home Thursday morning.
Barnes allows his players to have social media accounts, but warns them about being careful what they, or anyone else, posts under their name.
"There's always somebody watching," Barnes said. "We want them to know they have a responsibility not only to themselves and their family, but to the university and their teammates.
"We believe in freedom of speech," Barnes said. "I don't think real discipline is making a bunch of rules and hiding behind rules."
Brown said he is generally uninterested in social media but allowed the cousin to open the Twitter account that purported to be him. Brown said the cousin apologized to him.
"Most of the time he just put our games up there and how I did," Brown said. "He got caught up in the moment."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
NO ONE WATCHES A CLOCK when Kemba Walker runs. UConn's junior guard is the fastest player in college basketball, period, and quantifying his speed would do nothing to clarify that. Watch him make a steal and go coast-to-coast. Did it happen in a blink of an eye? A fraction of a heartbeat? "He's got that kind of speed there really is no defense for," says an NBA scout. "It changes the game at any level, for the same reason: Gone is gone."
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