Making Tracks To Seattle College’s Midterm Report Card Shows Tcu, Pac-10 On The Rise

Massachusetts, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse. That’s a prognostication of the Final Four nearly two months before it begins April 1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

Want two Division I Player of the Year candidates? Michigan State guard Shawn Respert and North Carolina center Rasheed Wallace.

How about the biggest surprise team in the country? Here’s a candidate - TCU. Last season, the Horned Frogs were 7-20. This season, they are 13-6 overall and tied for first in the Southwest Conference.

These are just a few of the Dallas Morning News’ mythical awards as many conference races reached or passed their midpoints last weekend:

Top league: Atlantic Coast Conference wins it hands down, even with Duke falling out of the Top 25. Any of five teams - North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia Tech or Wake Forest - could make the Final 16.

Most improved conference: Pac-10. Stanford and Arizona State add punch to old standbys UCLA and Arizona. Cal, Oregon and Washington State can be dangerous. But the NCAA Tournament will be the standard by which the league is judged.

Most disappointing conference: Big Ten. Michigan and Indiana may struggle to make the NCAA Tournament. There’s no national title contender in the league.

Best coaching job: (Tie) Oregon’s Jerry Green and Penn State’s Bruce Parkhill. The Ducks have been doormats for some time, but they are now respectable. Parkhill has Penn State competitive in the Big Ten.

Most unpredictable team: Louisville. The Cardinals have beaten No. 6 Kentucky and lost to Towson State.

Most shocking game: Louisville’s 81-69 loss at Towson State last week.

Most impressive performance: (Tie) Kansas’ 88-59 victory over UConn; UMass’ 104-80 victory over Arkansas.

Best win on an opponent’s home floor: (Tie) Alabama’s 88-70 victory at Arkansas and UCLA’s 71-61 victory at Arizona. Freshman of the year: Georgetown guard Allen Iverson. He has changed the way the Hoyas play. They can score for a change.

Shot of the year: Guard Michael Lloyd’s long 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift Syracuse to a 60-59 victory at Providence.

Most disappointing team: Duke (0-9 in ACC). Even if coach Mike Krzyzewski hadn’t taken a leave of absence with a bad back, this team would have had some problems.

Best player nobody knows anything about: Texas-El Paso guard Antoine Gillespie.

Wildest league: The Metro. Everybody has a winning record. And any team could win the league’s postseason tournament to be held in Louisville.

League that will send the most teams to the NCAA Tournament: Just a hunch … The SEC might get six in: Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State and take your pick of two from Florida, Auburn, LSU and Georgia.

Most underrated league: Western Athletic Conference. Brigham Young, Utah, Texas-El Paso and Wyoming are all solid teams.

Best NCAA Tournament bet: Kansas will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. That accomplished, if it wins its first two games, it will play the regional semifinal and final at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. That’s only 45 minutes from its campus. See you in Seattle. But remember: In 1992, Kansas had the same potential path and lost to Texas-El Paso in the second round before it could reach Kansas City.

Sleeper team: Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s athletes are as good as Arkansas’ group. Alabama plays in a strong league. Take a chance with the Tide in the office pool.

Team that might disappoint: North Carolina. Great first five. But depth isn’t there. It’s doubtful the Tar Heels can survive tournament grind.

Team with something to prove: Massachusetts. Nobody remembers who was ranked No. 1 during parts of the regular season. Loss to Maryland in second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament still makes coach John Calipari wake up at night in a cold sweat.

Biggest question mark going into March: Massachusetts center Marcus Camby’s hamstring. He’s out until the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March.

Best one-on-one player: North Carolina’s 6-foot-6 sophomore Jerry Stackhouse. He can go inside or outside and play all over the court. He’s at his best at crunch time.

Nice way to go out: If Michigan State could make the Final Four, it would be a fitting finale for coach Jud Heathcote. He’s one of the most colorful coaches in the business.