McKinney's contacts linked to Jays' troubles
Friday, Jan. 30: Creighton's problems could be tied to a freak eye infection to point guard Tyler McKinney. The Bluejays are 10-0 when the junior guard plays, 5-2 when he doesn't. McKinney has only been able to watch from the sidelines recently. He hasn't played since Jan. 7 at Illinois State. And he could be faced with a long wait before he can play again. According to Creighton officials, McKinney suffered the infection when he either used an old contact lens case or was using tap water to clean his contacts. McKinney went through an extensive procedure, including getting eye drops every 25 minutes for a 96-hour period. But bright lights still bother him. And, according to Creighton spokesperson Rob Anderson, there could be cornea damage that may have to be treated. ... Former St. John's coach Mike Jarvis hasn't zeroed in on a job yet, but he's certainly getting plenty of calls. Jarvis and his son Mike Jarvis II, a former St. John's assistant, said at least eight current assistant and head coaches have called interested on being on his staff when he lands a new job in the spring. "I hope it's a good omen," Jarvis said.

Hargrow pays to someday play at Arkansas
Thursday, Jan. 29: Minnesota guard Mo Hargrow decided to pay for his own scholarship over the next two semesters, transferring to Arkansas in time for Wednesday's 12th day of classes in Fayetteville. Arkansas didn't have a scholarship available for Hargrow, who bailed on the Gophers last week. The junior guard averaged 11.4 ppg this season but Minnesota coach Dan Monson benched him against Purdue. Hargrow went to Arkansas because of he felt comfortable with Arkansas assistant Ronnie Thompson, who recruited him when he was an assistant at Georgetown. Hargrow will have three semesters of eligibility remaining beginning at the end of the fall semester in 2004. ... Mississippi State needs another guard in its rotation to give Timmy Bowers a breather, but the Bulldogs are taking it slow with Ontario Harper. Harper has been out with a torn ACL the whole season. He's starting to do more running in practice but still isn't cutting from side to side. The staff said Thursday they don't want to rush him.. ... Purdue is taking Kenny Lowe's injury (sprained left elbow against Indiana) day by day, but he may pass on Saturday's game against Ohio State before a two-game road swing to Penn State and Michigan.

Morrill tops short list of Utah candidates
Wednesday, Jan. 28: Kerry Rupp will get a chance to earn the full-time job at the University of Utah, but athletic director Chris Hill will likely look for a proven head coach. He probably will start with Utah State head coach Stew Morrill, according to multiple sources in the state. Morrill, whose Aggies are off to the best start in school history at 15-1 and 7-0 in the Big West, is a natural for the job. Morrill turned the Aggies into a consistent NCAA Tournament team, taking them to the Dance in three of the past four seasons. Morrill, whose only loss this season was to Utah, is 4-2 against the Utes since he arrived at Utah State. He was 5-9 against the Utes when he was coaching Colorado State. Morrill has recruited in-state very well, handled Mormon Church missionaries and the strain that puts on recruiting classes. He also recruited junior college athletes well, too. If Morrill leaves, USU assistant Randy Rahe has been promised the head coaching gig, according to sources. Creighton's Dana Altman could also be on the short list. Hill has a few months to find a head coach. But he shouldn't have to go past Logan.

Falcons impressive, but NCAA-worthy?
Tuesday, Jan. 27: Karl Benson wanted to see Air Force in person before he met with the NCAA Tournament selection committee next week in Indianapolis. He thought he owed it to the Academy to give an accurate report of the Falcons. The WAC commissioner and one of the 10 members of the committee left extremely impressed Monday night. "You can get a feel for how they play on television, but until you see them in person, you don't really appreciate it," Benson said after the Falcons (14-2) moved to 4-0 in the MWC with a win over Utah. "They were so skilled and so precise." Air Force (RPI of 70) will be in the discussion when the selection committee meets, but the strength of schedule rating of 275 could ultimately hurt the Falcons if they don't win the MWC tournament. That's even if they win the regular-season title. The MWC is rated No. 7 among conferences. But only one of the nine teams -- BYU over Oklahoma State -- has a win over an RPI top 25 team. The other good win is probably Colorado State's disputed buzzer-beater over Purdue at home.

Hargrow headed to Arkansas?
Monday, Jan. 26: Arkansas is the favorite to land Minnesota transfer Mo Hargrow, if he's willing to pay for his own scholarship. Hargrow bailed on the Gophers last week, leaving Minnesota at a time when the Gophers were trying to turn their season around. Hargrow was one of the more athletic players in the Big Ten and did increase his scoring from 3.6 to 13.2 points over his freshman to sophomore seasons. The junior was averaging 11.4 ppg this season. Minnesota coach Dan Monson benched him for the final 15 minutes in a loss at Ohio State to try and shake up the lineup. He didn't start him against Purdue. If he transfers to Arkansas, Hargrow must do it by Wednesday, the 12th day of classes at Arkansas. The connection to Arkansas is assistant coach Ronnie Thompson, who recruited Hargrow when he was an assistant at Georgetown. Meanwhile, Monson is getting criticized for the first time in his career after being untouched at Gonzaga. But his job appears secure. He gets five more years on his contract once the NCAA probation ends, which finishes in the fall. Monson hasn't made the NCAAs in the four seasons since taking over for Clem Haskins.

C-USA may stand pat if TCU leaves
Friday, Jan. 23: Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky is under no pressure to replace TCU if the Horned Frogs leave for the Mountain West. The TCU board of trustees is supposed to meet next week to discuss leaving C-USA for the MWC. The MWC hasn't officially invited TCU, but is expected to do so if the trustees want in to make the Horned Frogs the ninth MWC member. Banowsky said he could add a team to replace TCU in the spring and still make the 2005-06 season. The candidates are likely to be Louisiana Tech or UTEP (WAC), North Texas (Sun Belt), Temple (A-10), Miami of Ohio (MAC) and Toledo (MAC). Banowsky said the new members -- Tulsa, Rice, SMU, Central Florida and Marshall -- would have equal say with the remaining members -- UAB, Southern Miss, Tulane, Houston, East Carolina and Memphis -- on any new addition. The WAC is waiting to see what C-USA does. If it takes Louisiana Tech, then the WAC would look to Idaho or North Texas. Conference commissioners do expect TCU to move once the offer arrives. The move would be made for football reasons.

MSU looking Power-ful in SEC
Thursday, Jan. 22: Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said after the Bulldogs lost to Kentucky at the buzzer last week that they had to split a road trip to LSU and Florida to stay in the SEC West race. The Bulldogs won both games, and remain a tip-in away from being 16-0 and 5-0 in the SEC (8-0 on the road) after MSU shocked Florida on Wednesday. The Gators played without Christian Drejer (out with a back injury; questionable for Saturday's game against Auburn) and couldn't effectively pressure the Bulldogs. Part of the reason was the switch Stansbury made in the starting lineup. Following the Kentucky loss, Stansbury moved Iowa State transfer guard Shane Power in and took out center Marcus Campbell. Campbell had struggled, and so too had the Bulldogs in the first half. Power delivered instant energy, scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds in the win at LSU. Then, Power scored 15, and dished out seven assists, in a season-high 39 minutes against Florida. "We had our heart ripped out against Kentucky," Stansbury said Thursday. "But we turned it around. That switch (with Power) has made a big difference."

TCU shows up to discuss C-USA future
Wednesday, Jan. 21: TCU athletic director Eric Hyman showed up at Conference USA meetings Tuesday in Dallas but that doesn't mean the Horned Frogs are staying in the league in 2005 instead of going to the Mountain West. The meeting was only for the members who will be in the newly formed Conference USA in 2005-06. So, the question facing the new teams like Tulsa, Rice, SMU, Marshall and Central Florida was would TCU show up? "They did show up," Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. "It doesn't mean anything definitive. They were constructive during the meeting. But it's still an open issue." Banowsky was still hoping for some resolution on the matter. But the MWC hasn't officially invited TCU and the Horned Frogs haven't decided if they would accept, either. Tulsa, Rice and SMU certainly want TCU in the league to give them another travel partner in Texas. Banowsky said Hyman told the group at the beginning of the meeting that "we're in until we're out." The athletic directors discussed divisional play, whether to have a championship football game, television and how to manage all other sports. But no final decisions were made.

No timeframe on Tucker's return
Tuesday, Jan. 20: Truthfully, Wisconsin has no clue when sophomore Alando Tucker is going to return to the Badgers' lineup. But the school has passed the point of no return for seeking a medical redshirt. If Tucker plays in a game at this point, he wouldn't be eligible to get a medical redshirt. Tucker (14 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 20.8 mpg) played in four games. He hasn't played since suffering pain in his repaired foot on Dec. 27 when he scored 22 points in a win over Ohio. Tucker had a pin inserted into the fractured foot and, although the foot didn't break again, it is causing him pain. He's not practicing, and until he is pain free (see: Stanford's Josh Childress) he's not going to play. But there is a feeling among the Badgers that no Tucker could mean no deep NCAA Tournament run. The 6-5 Tucker is by far the Badgers' most athletic player. He is a matchup problem for opposing teams and gives Wisconsin the athleticism they need on the wing. ... Don't expect movement on the St. John's job until at least mid-February. Any potential candidates, like former UNC coach Matt Doherty, haven't been officially contacted.

Zags can't get out of Tulsa game
Monday, Jan. 19: The Bracket Buster switch is dead. Gonzaga will play at Tulsa on Feb. 21, instead of hosting Creighton in what could have been a matchup between the only ranked teams in the event. Tulsa athletic director Judy MacLeod told ESPN.com Monday that the Golden Hurricane looked at the possibility of switching games, but it wasn't financially feasible. "We already have a home-and-home contract with Gonzaga and we moved that into the Bracket Buster," MacLeod said of the only pre-arranged game in the event. The rest of the matchups between mid-major schools will be announced Feb. 1. "We only have 100 tickets left. We have advertised it as our biggest non-conference game and sold a mini-pack with it in there. We took a long, hard look at it and we couldn't do it. Our fans would be upset if we said we're not playing a top 20 team." The plan was for Gonzaga to go to Tulsa in 2004-05, but for this event Tulsa would host another team in the event. The marquee game on Feb. 21 will likely be Creighton at Western Michigan (ESPN). The Broncos moved to being a home team, while Evansville is now a road team.

Slumping Gophers get out of town early
Friday, Jan. 16: Minnesota coach Dan Monson took the Gophers to Ohio State a day early on Thursday for Saturday's game. His reason: get them away from distractions. The Gophers (8-6, 0-2 Big Ten) practiced twice Thursday in Columbus, hoping to find some way to jumpstart what has been a disappointing season. "I wanted the team to get away from all the people at home and let them just hang out," Monson said. "We're going to go up to my room and sing Kumbaya or We Are Family, to get this thing going." Monson, of course, is kidding. But he points to defenses sagging in on freshman Kris Humphries (22.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg) and forcing the other Gophers to shoot as one of the team's problems. Michael Bauer (37.4 percent a year ago) is shooting 28.6 percent on 3s, Adam Boone 29 percent. Penn State zoned the Gophers in the second half of its win while Iowa beat them with a zone, too. ... St. Bonaventure coach Anthony Solomon picked up a key transfer when he added former 6-9 Florida forward Mario Boggan. Boggan starts classes Monday. He has practiced with the Bonnies for two weeks. He'll be eligible after the fall semester in 2004.

Schifino simply wore out his welcome
Wednesday, Jan. 14: Drew Schifino's dismissal from West Virginia was the result of a series of missteps, not just one postgame outburst after the Mountaineers lost at Notre Dame (Jan. 7), a source told ESPN.com. The Mountaineers' leading scorer was suspended for the Georgetown game three days later, but was told by coach John Beilein to sit on the bench in street clothes. But Schifino didn't show up. He then missed a training meal and a practice. The West Virginia coaches didn't see him from Jan. 8-12, before Beilein met with Schifino and his family. The team rule that Schifino broke? Simply not showing up for practice. This was a similar situation to Kansas' Jeff Graves, who missed a practice on Dec. 12, was suspended for the Oregon game the next day, but returned to the team once he showed up and put his interests aside. If Schifino (17.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg) transfers to another Division I team, he would have one year of eligibility remaining. He could play immediately for a non-D-I team. Beilein has said he would grant him a release. Schifino and fellow junior Tyrone Sally are the only players in the program recruited by former coach Gale Catlett.

New 3-point arc on hold
Tuesday, Jan. 13: Cost and the debate over the trapezoid lane has put a hold on moving the 3-point line to the international distance of 20 feet, 6 inches from the college line of 19-9, according to at least one member of the rules committee, who said the change is on indefinite hold. The NCAA board of directors tabled the changes until at least 2005-06. The rules committee believes the reason for the holdup is the failure for the men and the women in all divisions to agree on the width of the lane. The cost of having too many lines on the court is an issue for smaller schools in D-I as well as D-II and D-III. ... Providence's Rob Sanders (two broken fingers) is expected to miss the next three games with a likely return date Jan. 24 against Connecticut. The Friars are 1-2 without their second leading scorer (13.4 ppg). ... Missouri's meeting with the NCAA to hear the facts of its case was supposed to be this week. But the NCAA pushed back until late January or early February because of scheduling issues. Missouri isn't expected to go in front of the infractions committee until June.