The Cincinnati Enquirer

Question from Jeff in Columbus: Is Xavier recruiting B.J. Raymond from Toledo?

A: Raymond and his father were at Xavier's game last Saturday against Massachusetts on an unofficial visit. Xavier has offered Raymond a scholarship according to his high school coach Ed Heintschel at Toledo St. John's Jesuit. Raymond, a 6-6 forward who is a good outside shooter, still has to pass his standardized tests, which he's expected to take in June. He's also being pursued by several major schools including Notre Dame, Ohio State, Connecticut, Florida and Michigan State.

From David: My biggest gripe with the team now is that Robert Whaley does not see enough time. What happened against Wake Forest will happen again if we don't get someone over 6-7 to bang with the big boys.

Jason Maxiell's wingspan will only get him so far.

A: Whaley showed signs of becoming the player UC hoped he would be when he scored 17 points against Houston, then returned to the bench. He's frustrating to watch because he throws up such wild shots, but there are times when it seems the best thing would be to just throw him in there and see what happens, as Huggins did at the beginning of the season. With Kareem Johnson at center, this team is very similar to last year's 17-12 team.

Plenty of C-USA for Top 25

Conference USA is one of only four conferences in the country with three teams in the men's and women's Top 25. The men have Louisville (10), Cincinnati (17) and Memphis (23). For the women, there's DePaul (12), TCU (17) and Houston (21).

Of the three ranked men's teams, two have been on a downslide, with Louisville having lost four of its last five and UC having lost four of its last six. Memphis, on the other hand, seems to be peaking at the right time. The Tigers are tied for first place with UAB and have won nine straight.

• Marquette has endured a difficult season on the heels of its 2003 Final Four year , but the Golden Eagles received news this week that puts it in perspective. Assistant coach Trey Schwab, diagnosed in 2001 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which hinders the body's ability to process oxygen, underwent double-lung transplant surgery on Monday. "Unless someone has been through the same situation Trey has been in the last 26 months, it is impossible to truly appreciate the courage and willingness to fight he displayed," Marquette coach Tom Crean said.

--Bill Koch

Atlantic-10: Bonnies may miss tourney

St. Bonaventure faces the possibility of missing the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the second straight year. The NCAA put the Bonnies on three years probation Thursday for last season's use of ineligible player Jamil Terrell. The probation includes no postseason appearances this season. The NCAA does not consider the conference tournament part of postseason, but the A-10 presidents might bar St. Bonaventure from playing in the tournament. If the Bonnies won the A-10 Tournament, the league would face a dilemma as to who to send to the NCAA Tournament, the A-10 Tournament runner-up, or the team with the best regular-season record.

• Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli hasn't been shy about voicing his team's capabilities and calling out doubters. After the Hawks improved to 23-0 Wednesday, Martelli ripped ESPN's Digger Phelps, according to The New York Times.

In addressing Phelps' criticism of Saint Joseph's schedule strength, Martelli referred to Phelps and other critics as "nonsensical talking heads who are paid a lot of money and utter complete nonsense."

--Dustin Dow

MAC: Smallwood returns to NIU

Senior Marcus Smallwood, an all-conference first-team pick last season, returned to the Northern Illinois lineup after missing three games because of unspecified "team and individual concerns."

"Marcus now has another opportunity to be a positive teammate and to have the proper attitude within our program," Huskies coach Rob Judson said.

Smallwood, NIU's leading scorer and rebounder said, "This was best for the team at the time." The Huskies lost all three games he missed, and have a nine-game losing streak.

• Miami's win at Ball State Monday improved the East Division's record against West Division teams to 26-17 this season. At 8-0, Kent State is the only team to go undefeated in inter-division play. West Division-leading Western Michigan was 5-2 against the East after an overtime loss at Marshall last Sunday.

• Nevada is the highest-ranked team in today's ESPN Bracket Buster event, according to CollegeRPI.com. The Wolf Pack is ranked 46th. No. 59 Western Michigan is the top-rated MAC team.

--Mark Schmetzer

Tipoff Sweet 16

Rank	Team	Comment
1.	Stanford	Must be able to handle growing pressure.
2.	Saint Joseph's	Rival game with Temple today.
3.	Mississippi State	One of season's biggest surprises.
4.	Duke	Rare two-game losing streak.
5.	Gonzaga	Lackluster Bracket Buster game against Tulsa today.
6.	Oklahoma State	Competing for NCAA No. 1 seed.
7.	Pittsburgh	Picked up statement win against UConn.
8.	Kentucky	Erik Daniels coming up big for 'Cats.
9.	N.C. State	Host out-of-conference Washington Sunday.
10.	Texas	Crosses Red River to take on Oklahoma today.
11.	Connecticut	Coming off bad two-loss week.
12.	Providence	Ryan Gomes stating case for Big East Player of the Year.
13.	Wisconsin	Has to get some road wins.
14.	Georgia Tech	Key matchup with Wake Forest Sunday.
15.	Memphis	Battles UAB for C-USA supremacy today.
16.	Southern Illinois	Best of the Bracket Buster against Hawaii tonight.

Defensive thieves

1. Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's: He's a regular in this column; second in the nation with 3.3 steals per game.

2. Chris Paul, Wake Forest: Don't even try to cross over on the Demon Deacons' point guard with a low center of gravity. Averages 3.1 steals a game.

3. Marques Green, St. Bonaventure: His diminutive stature (he's 5-7)places him in perfect position to grab 3.8 steals per game.

4. Zakee Wadood, East Tennessee State: An all-around talent who blocks shots (2.2 per game) and makes steals (3.0 per game).

5. Winsome Frazier, Mississippi State: Almost twice as many steals (60) as turnovers (37).

Thumbs up

Trey Schwab: The Marquette assistant coach underwent a double lung transplant.

Georgia Tech: Won at Maryland for the first time in nine tries.

Oklahoma State: Has won 10 straight and has a one-game lead in the Big 12.

Chris Thomas: Notre Dame's point guard has averaged 27.3 points the last three games.

Thumbs down

Syracuse: 3-3 mark in its last six games has the NCAA Tournament defending champions approaching the bubble.

N.C. State: Missed a chance to capitalize on Duke loss by losing at Clemson.

Court rushing: It's becoming clichÈ and dangerous.

Myles Brand: NCAA president fooled nobody when he said, "College sports is not a business."

Must-See TV

Creighton at Kent State, noon today (ESPN2): One of ESPN's best "Bracket Buster" matchups.

Louisville at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. today (Ch. 9, 2): Uh, not quite as glamorous as their first meeting.

Dayton at Xavier, 2 p.m. today (ESPN): Biggest remaining game on XU's schedule.

Stanford at UCLA, 4 p.m. today (Ch. 12, 7): Cardinal must hang tough on the road.

N.C. State at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN): Two of this season's most surprising teams.

Numbers game

6: Consecutive wins for Stanford at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. The Cardinal, the only team in the arena's 39-year history to reach that win streak, will put it and their 22-0 season record on the line there against the Bruins today.

The list

Danny Horace's five favorite TV programs:

1. SportsCenter 2. The Family Guy 3. Chappelle's Show 4. BET 5. Fifth Wheel

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com or bkoch@enquirer.com