On the money, so far

By John McManus Sports Central Columnist

It's been a while since my Early Season Observations article was posted, but it's not too late to evaluate how I did on my first set of predictions for the 2001-02 college basketball season. Let's recap what I called back on December 2nd.

1. Expect St. John's to avenge last year's loss to Fordham.

Result: Correct! Thanks to Marcus Hatten, the Johnnies held on to win a close one at Madison Square Garden.

2. I'll be at the Meadowlands on December 18th when Duke handles Kentucky in the Jimmy V. Classic.

Result: Correct! The Blue Devils didn't exactly handle the Wildcats, but it was a classic. In what was probably the best game of the season thus far, Duke won in overtime 95-92.

3. Expect North Carolina to rebound some if they get Ronald Curry back.

Result: Curry didn't come back and the Tar Heels didn't rebound or score or play defense or anything. They're just bad this year.

4. Expect Bob Knight and Rick Pitino to have no more than six losses between the two of them entering January.

Result: Correct! I actually underestimated the two coaching geniuses. On New Year's Day, Texas Tech was 11-1 and Louisville was 9-2.

Let's go back to the days when there was no overtime in college football and count my North Carolina prediction as a tie, making my 2001-02 college basketball predictions record an impressive 3-0-1. I'd like to raise the stakes and offer some midseason prognostications:

1. Pencil in Duke as the No. 1 seed in the East. They were a lock for a No. 1 seed to begin with ever since Jason Williams officially announced his return last spring, but now they are entirely focused. Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, and Mike Dunleavy have gone from very good players to superstars. Barring any injuries, the Dukies are now a lock to get the top spot in the East Regional for the fourth year in a row.

2. What goes down, should come up. Just like Maryland overcame their midseason slump last year, look for at least one these teams to get hot when it counts and make run in March:

Iowa - There's just too much experience and senior leadership on this team. Once Luke Recker gets healthier and Pierre Pierce gets more experienced at the point, look for the Hawkeyes to be a Final Four contender.

Missouri - Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert provide experience and star-power. They would have made a run last year if they hadn't run into Duke in the second round.

Notre Dame - Their starting five is solid. Chris Thomas is the real deal, Ryan Humphrey has star-power, and if Matt Carroll's stroke is on, this team is dangerous.

3. This one's not too hard to call. North Carolina's streak of NCAA Tournament appearances will end this year. They won't even make the NIT.

4. Penn or Princeton will once again represent the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament, making it 32 out of the last 34 years that has happened.

5. My toughest call. Jason Williams will score 40. Believe it or not, he has not done this at Duke, understandably, because there is so much other talent there. He may not do it until he gets to the NBA, but I'll stick my neck out and say that he'll do it this season.

6. Another easy one. Florida State will get waxed at Duke on February 7th. You think?

Article courtesy of Sports Central.