Seth Davis's Three-pointer

1 The national coach of the year will come from the Pac-10. A case can be made for UCLA's Ben Howland, Washington State's Tony Bennett and USC's Tim Floyd, but the choice here is Oregon's Ernie Kent (right), who had led the Ducks to second place in the league.

2 Give Drew Neitzel his due. Michigan State's junior guard—who scored 24 second-half points in a 66--64 loss at Ohio State last Saturday—may not be the best player in the Big Ten, but he is the most valuable.

3 Alabama and LSU are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. Losses last weekend to Arkansas and Georgia, respectively, dropped both teams to 2--4 in the SEC.