Gone Are Days of Scheduling Nobodies to Be Somebody

Remember those long unbeaten streaks of yesteryear?

OK, so it was only last season.

Stanford and Utah were undefeated deep into January, both starting 18-0 on the way to the Final Four.

This season, Stanford, with every starter back, was picked as preseason No. 1 in some corners--and stayed unbeaten no further than the final of the Preseason NIT, losing to North Carolina.

Duke, the most popular preseason No. 1, fell to Cincinnati in the sixth game at the Great Alaska Shootout.

Here it is the first week of December, and 19 of the Associated Press’ top 25 teams have lost.

Five have lost twice and Utah three times. The Utes didn’t figure to be nearly as good without Michael Doleac, but they didn’t lose their third game last season until the Western Athletic Conference tournament in March.

It’s true, No. 1 Connecticut is unbeaten, but the Huskies will have to fend off No. 9 Michigan State today to stay that way (and figure to).

No. 2 Maryland has yet to lose, but has to beat No. 5 Stanford on Sunday (also likely).

No. 3 North Carolina struggled against Old Dominion on Friday--and the Tar Heels and Terrapins’ chances of making it through the Atlantic Coast Conference minefield in January are slim.

At the Wooden Classic in Anaheim today, No. 18 UCLA, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Kansas and Pepperdine will get together--with five losses among them and nobody unscathed.

“Losses are very humbling,” said UCLA Coach Steve Lavin, whose team has two. “It makes you reevaluate and think you’re not very good as a coach.”

At least the young Bruins lost to top-10 teams, Maryland and Kentucky.

Oklahoma State is reeling after a loss to Florida Atlantic.

“We had a recruit call the next day and say, ‘Florida Atlantic? They beat you? That sounds more like an airline,’ ” Coach Eddie Sutton said.

Most of the early-season losses by top teams are of a different variety. They’re to good teams. Ranked teams, battling it out before Christmas.

Arizona Coach Lute Olson calls it one of the biggest changes of the last decade in college basketball: November and December matter.

A period that used to be reserved for games against Never-Heard-of-You State and Northeast Southwest University now has great matchups. Stanford and Utah, as good as they were last season, got to January unbeaten partly on a diet of cupcakes.

The typical high-profile team finds out early if it’s good, and how good. Top-10 teams that once would never see each other until March now see each other in November--and remember it the rest of the season.

The big games are largely because of the growth of made-for-TV tournaments and matchups such as the Great Eight.

But they’re also very much about the necessity of building a good Ratings Percentage Index rating, which has become the crucial factor in NCAA tournament selection and seeding. So turn on your TV in November and December, check out the new players and watch the giants tumble.

“I love that,” said Kansas Coach Roy Williams, whose 1996-97 team started the season 22-0. “I think it gets the attention college basketball wants.

“I said 15, 10, even five years ago, I didn’t want college basketball to be like the NBA: People waiting for the playoffs.

“This adds more attention and makes the regular season more important. I think college basketball is not just about the final result. We should enjoy the whole process.”

FADE TO BLUE AND WHITE

Lavin sat next to John Wooden at a news conference Friday, whispering friendly comments in his ear--and speaking loud and clear on the status of the black UCLA uniforms Wooden has graciously but clearly disapproved of.

“I promised him we wouldn’t wear the black uniforms to the Wooden Classic,” Lavin said, drawing laughter. “I also promised we wouldn’t turn the lights out and shoot fireworks at Pauley like they do at UNLV. No glow-in-the-dark uniforms. No glow-in- the-dark shoes.”

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Starting at center for Kansas today against Pepperdine: Eric Chenowith, from nearby Villa Park High.

Starring for Kansas in recent years: Inglewood’s Paul Pierce, Pasadena’s Jacque Vaughn, Santa Ana’s Alonzo Jamison and Reseda’s Adonis Jordan.

USC Coach Henry Bibby has more than taken note.

The Trojans end a home-and-home series against Kansas at Lawrence on Dec. 12, and he is urging other local coaches to no longer schedule teams that he views as raiders of Southern California talent.

“I’m very serious about that,” Bibby said. “I want California kids playing in California. What reason is there for a kid to leave California?

“Why showcase those schools when they’re trying to get our kids?”

UCLA claimed last season there were other reasons for ending its series with Duke, but Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski suspected otherwise.

Williams, the Kansas coach, says the sentiment is nothing new.

“I would tell Henry, ‘I’ve yet to find a player who made a decision on where to go to school on one game a year,’ ” he said. “He’s entitled to his opinion. It’s sort of silly.

“Henry’s not the first to say that. [Former USC coach] George Raveling made the same kind of statement at a Pac-10 coaches meeting.”

Williams didn’t point out the obvious, but we will: UCLA’s Earl Watson and JaRon Rush are from Kansas City, and USC’s Sam Clancy is from Fairview, Ohio.

USC isn’t ducking tough opponents. The Trojans are scheduled to play in the Maui Classic next season, with Syracuse, North Carolina and Purdue and will play in the Wooden Classic next year.

FOOLED US

The surprises of the early season are North Carolina, shooting to No. 3 after beating Stanford, despite having lost lottery picks Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter from last season’s team, and Pittsburgh.

Pitt went to the Puerto Rico Shootout unranked, but beat then-No. 13 Xavier in the first round and then-No. 4 Kentucky before getting clobbered by then-No. 5 Maryland in the championship game.

Pitt was off to its best start since 1987-88, when the Panthers opened 9-0 and 13-1 with a team that had Charles Smith and Jerome Lane, and John Calipari as an assistant coach.

The Pitt players who endured an 11-16 record last season saw Puerto Rico as a major crossroads.

“That’s what we came to this weekend for, to turn the program around and let everyone know Pitt basketball is for real,” forward Isaac Hawkins said.

Guard Vonteego Cummings agreed.

“When you beat the defending national champions, that’s got to say a lot about your team.”

Coming up quickly for Pitt, however, are Tennessee, No. 25 St. John’s and No. 1 Connecticut.

The difference for North Carolina has been the transformation of center Brendan Haywood.

The 7-footer who wears No. 00 averaged three points and eight minutes a game last season, the only reserve who played much behind the Tar Heels’ “starting six.”

This season? He seems more mobile, more aggressive and more confident and is averaging almost 13 points and eight rebounds a game, and has blocked 19 shots in seven games. And the Tar Heels should get better when they add top recruit Ron Curry, a guard who is also the football team’s quarterback, after the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 19.