Whether the topic was football's Ron Zook in November or basketball's Bruce Weber last week, Illinois athletics director Mike Thomas has been consistent with his answers regarding the future of the school's coaches. He repeatedly has said he will evaluate each coach and his program when the season is completed and make a decision based on the body of work.
Thomas made those same comments on Champaign radio station WDWS on Saturday as he was peppered with phone calls — pro and con — about Weber. Some viewed the response as a failed opportunity to offer a public vote of confidence. The ninth-year coach was bothered by some media reports of the radio interview.
"There were not comments, to be honest," Weber said on the Big Ten teleconference Monday. "An article was written, from my understanding, that was taken kind of out of context. We have to win games. That's plain and simple. ... People write stories and they can do whatever they want. We need to get wins right now and get our team playing well. That's the most important thing."
The Illini have lost six of their last seven games, a stretch that has cast doubt on their chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Thomas has outlined a list of priorities for basketball similar to the goals he expressed for football. Foremost is competing for Big Ten championships. Like Zook (who was fired), Weber has struggled to do so for many years. Thomas said that a spot in the NCAA Tournament should be a given.
"We've got to be in the higher ranks of the Big Ten," Thomas said on WDWS. "In the Big Ten, not just men's basketball, if you're in the upper crust you're a top team nationally. Illinois has had a history, a good part of its history, being that kind of program. We need to not only get to be that kind of program, but, more difficult, sustain that."
UConn is denied
After vowing swift changes in the way business is done last August, the NCAA quickly focused on academic requirements for postseason participation. One day after a presidential retreat, the NCAA announced tougher standards for the Academic Progress Rate and tied them to events such as the NCAA Tournament.
With academics at the forefront of a proposed overhaul, it came as no surprise last week when the NCAA denied Connecticut's appeal of its ban from the 2013 tourney for failing to meet the new standards. UConn will appeal again.
The NCAA plans to use scores from 2009-10 and 2010-11 for the 2013 tourney. However, it is considering a change to use the 2010-11 and 2011-12 APR scores, according to the Associated Press, which would give UConn a high enough score.
Alabama suspensions
Alabama's NCAA tourney bubble status became a bit more tenuous when the school announced the indefinite suspension of three players, including leading scorer JaMychal Green, for a violation of team rules. Also suspended were Andrew Steele and Trevor Releford. Meanwhile, second-leading scorer Tony Mitchell already was suspended. Besides averaging 14.1 points, Green also leads the Crimson Tide (16-8) in rebounding (7.2 per game). The four players account for an average of 45.4 points on a team that averages only 66.1.
Second-half surge
Mississippi Valley State didn't see its home court once in November and December, playing its first 12 games away from Itta Bena, Miss.
It was all about the money the program received while the Delta Devils started 1-11, losing to Notre Dame, North Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin, among others.
But in the comfort of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, they have been unbeatable. With 12 consecutive wins, Mississippi Valley State is rolling toward the regular-season title with a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament after that horrendous start.
Rising and falling
STOCK RISING: Wichita State (22-4) has control of the Missouri Valley Conference after its romp over Creighton; St. Louis U. (20-5) has won seven out of eight with three road victories; after stumbling, Louisville (20-5) has rebounded to win six straight in the Big East.
STOCK FALLING: West Virginia (16-10) has dropped five of its last six in mostly painful fashion; after starting the Big Ten 4-1, Illinois (16-9) has dropped six of seven and tumbled into a tie for seventh; one loss for Murray State (24-1), and the Racers suddenly are not a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
