FanSided NCAA Links: WVU in March, True Contenders, Hoosiers on the Run

Good Evening! It’s a slow day in Buckeye sports, despite the fact that all-time gridiron great A.J. Hawk has been released by the Packers. It should be interesting to see where the Buckeye alum lands and if he does before the collective bargaining agreement ends.

Anyways….. here at the FanSided Network we’ve put together a solid staff of NCAA writers who care about their schools and teams. Tonight starts a semi-regular feature in which we bring you the best from the FanSided NCAA Network.

Big Ten:

Clipped from: hoosierstateofmind.com (share this clip)

Deland McCullough will join the Hoosier staff from Miami of Ohio. McCullough also played at Miami of Ohio and was a three-time All-MAC selection (first team in 1992 and 1995, second team in 1994). McCullough ended his career as the Mid-American Conference and Miami record-holder for career rushing yards (4,368) and career rushing attempts (949).

From hoosierstateofmind.com (share this quote)

Hoosier State of Mind brings us an interesting pick up for the Indiana football staff. Deland McCullough will give the Hoosiers a recruiter that can tap into the Ohio talent pool. I don’t think he’ll have too much success, but either way a good signing by the Hoosiers.

Clipped from: badgerofhonor.com (share this clip)

If I were a Buckeye fan I would be nervous of a team with a ton of length. Someone like North Carolina could make Ohio State nervous due to the inside duo of Zeller and Henson. We have not seen Sullinger get into much, if any, foul trouble. The tournament will test every teams depth at some point and that is about the only thing to be wary of with Ohio State.

From badgerofhonor.com (share this quote)

Justin Malaise at Badger of Honor takes a look at who he believes are the top two contenders in the battle for a national championship. Ohio State and Duke are his top two rated teams who he think can take the big dance championship back to campus. One of those is our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. Great breakdown by Justin as he also covers who he thinks is a pretender. The Texas Longhorns have had an interesting season for being so talented and highly ranked. We’ll see how friendly things are in March.

ACC:

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Not only did the win get BC to 18 victories on the season and give them a crucial sweep of the Hokies, it turned the remaining schedule in their favor. Next up is a game against Wake Forest, one of the worst ACC teams in recent memory. This will either be a taking-care-of-business win for #19 or it will be the mother of all “WTF losses,” one so noisome and appalling that it would make Tom O’Brien blush.

From bcsoaring.com (share this quote)

Soaring to Glory breaks down the Boston College Resume with March Madness approaching a week from now. Boston College has been better than some people realize with two wins over Virginia Tech. Watch out for them in the ACC tournament.

Pac 10:

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Just how bad is the perception of the Pac-10 nationally? They only have one ranked team, and USC coach Kevin O’Neill spoke up on behalf of rival UCLA today in an effort to boost the leagues credibility as the Trojans search for an at-large bid. “I can’t believe UCLA is not ranked this week,” O’Neill told reporters on Tuesday. “I believe it’s an absolute travesty.”

From reignoftroy.com (share this quote)

Reign of Troy ranks the Pac 10 conference this season and evaluates where teams are at in the thick of things come March. Interestingly enough only one PAC 10 team is rated in the top 25. That is crazy to think. UCLA is coming on strong and if their guards take care of the Basketball, then it could be an interesting run in the NCAA tournament.

Big East:

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The Sports Dude brings us his thoughts on West Virginia’s chances of making it to the big dance in the upcoming week. A win in the Big East tourney should get them there and some are thinking that 11 teams in the Big East will be heading to the land of 68. I think they are in with one more win either at the end of the season or in the tourney..

SEC:

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I thought I had seen it all until I saw this,” the statement is definitely made tongue in cheek. Apparently, at UGA, almost all the assistant football coaches have a “retention bonus” provision built into their contracts. Is this bonus based upon performance? Of course not, that makes way too much sense. No, these bonus’ are based upon the assistant coaches ‘hanging around’ after the 2010-2011 season, without quitting or getting canned.

From dawnofthedawg.com (share this quote)

An interesting article from the Dawn of the Dawg staff today that discusses Mike Bobo and the Georgia staff’s clauses in their contract that gives them a bonus for staying around….. This is interesting considering the status of Mike Bobo’s job in the fan’s eyes. We will see if Bobo will stick around much longer than next season as the Offensive Coordinator.