Day: March 6, 2006 (Page 2 of 3)

With the release of the new USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, it appears that, unless Duke loses its third consecutive game, three of the #1 seeds are set. UConn, Duke and Villanova have been rotating through the top four spots in the poll for the last few weeks. If Duke wins a conference tourney game or two, they should lock up the #1 seed in the South (or possibly the East if UConn and ‘Nova falter early.) The Big East team that goes the farthest in that tournament will likely be awarded the #1 seed in the East, with the other team likely getting the #1 seed in the Midwest.

However, the fourth #1 seed is up for grabs. Memphis was first in line, but their loss last week to UAB has pushed them down to the #5 ranking, and Gonzaga took their place. If the Bulldogs go on to win their conference tournament, they have a good shot at being the #1 seed in the West. However, there are several other teams that could lay claims to the final #1 seed. Memphis, George Washington, Ohio State, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Illinois and North Carolina, could each make a strong argument with terrific play in their respective conference tournaments.

This isn’t the kind of news Tennessee fans want to be reading about as the Vols head into the Tourney:

Tennessee basketball players Anthony Passley and Jordan Smith were charged with possession of crack cocaine and suspended indefinitely from the team.

Officers trying to clear traffic near a nightclub spotted a car on the sidewalk under a no-parking sign and approached to ask them to move, DeBusk said.

Officers found 15.2 grams of crack cocaine in the car and charged the pair with possession for resale, the police spokesman said. Passley was charged with simple possession of marijuana, DeBusk said.

Crack? Really? What is this, 1985?

Passley, a red-shirt freshman, transferred from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Smith, a walk-on, has played only four minutes this season. Something tells me that’s all he’s ever going to play for Tennessee.