The "Good, the Fad, and the Funny" in college hoops

The college basketball season is starting to wind down and is only a few weeks away from the greatest finale in sports -- March Madness.

What a season it has been!

From the surprising success of the Vanderbilt Commodores, to the possible perfect seasons of Stanford and St. Joseph's, college basketball has once again captured the imagination, and the hearts, of college hoops fans everywhere.

There are a few things that I will remember the most about this college basketball season.

A few things that I will call "The Good, the Fad and the Funny.

The Good

The Atlantic Coast Conference.

Simply put, this is the best conference in the land, bar none.

With five ranked teams and two others receiving votes in the latest AP top 25 poll -- No. 1 Duke, No. 14 North Carolina, No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Wake Forest, and No. 21 North Carolina State -- the ACC is stacked from top to bottom.

Florida State and Maryland have some big wins against ranked opponents and will be very tough to beat in the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament.

There is no doubt in my mind that all seven of these teams would be ranked if they didn't have to beat up on each other during conference play.

The Blue Devils' 10-0 record in conference play is astounding.

They have done it with pinpoint accuracy from behind the arc, tough inside play, and with one of the best team defenses in the country. Having Coach Mike Krzyzewski helps as well.

This Duke team will be a favorite come March, when teams have to do what Duke has been doing all season... beating the best teams in the country.

The Fad

A Fad, according to Webster, is a style, etc. that interests many people for a short period of time; a passing fashion.

The St. Joseph's Hawks are my choice as this season's Fad.

Sure, the Hawks are unbeaten, 21-0, and are one of two teams that are unbeaten in the country, the other team being the Stanford Cardinal at 20-0.

However, they have done it against a relatively easy schedule, a schedule ranked 31st most difficult by the RPI.

I'm not saying that the Hawks are a bad team, not at all. In fact, St. Joe's is a very good team.

It wouldn't be too bright for me to say that a team that has senior Jameer Nelson (20.2 ppg)and junior Delonte West (19.2ppg) in their backcourt is a bad team.

The Hawks are a talented, but untested squad, having only played one ranked team, Gonzaga, and that was their first game of the season.

The Atlantic 10 is the weakest it has been in years.

It is probable that only St. Joe's and Dayton will be the only two teams in the conference getting invitations to the big dance.

The Hawks may not be prepared to play the best teams in the country when the tourney finally gets here.

Although the Hawks are unbeaten and have some of the best talent in America, I wouldn't recommend inking St. Joseph's in as your office pool national champion.

Because, come tournament time, they are going to be merely a passing fashion.

The Funny

The proverbial ugly.

Steve Bartman catching a playable foul ball at Wrigley Field during game six of the NLCS, or Bill Buckner, letting a routine grounder go between his legs to lose Game 6 of the World Series.

Moments in sports that made you cringe when you saw them.

Now let's go to the next level of ugly.

Funny.

These are times when a moment is so ugly, it's hilarious.

You laugh when you watch the anemic Dallas Cowboy offense go four and out for the entire first quarter.

You also laugh when watching the Oklahoma Sooners shoot 1-21 from behind the three point arc against the Texas Longhorns.

You know what else is really funny?

I hate to say it, because a good friend I work with graduated from this school.

Sorry buddy, but they are horrendous -- the Texas A&M Aggies.

It's funny to see the Aggies go winless in the Big 12.

The Big 12 is not as strong as they were a year ago, and there are a few teams the Aggies should be able to beat.

They couldn't beat a devastated Baylor Bear team.

The Bears saw most of their talent transfer to other teams due to the Patrick Dennehy tragedy and the controversy surrounding the resignation of coach Dave Bliss.

It is also funny to see Texas A&M get slapped around by their little sister, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 82-80.

Mommy, tell her to leave me alone! Not to mention a 90-58 annihilation at the hands of Oakland University.

I guess it would be too much to ask to win a few conference games when you prepare for your conference schedule by playing the likes of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Alabama A&M, and Prairie View.

Teams with a combined record of 13-45.

Texas A&M, why don't you let your 12th-man play, you need all the help you can get!

Remember, laughter is the best medicine.