What’s a hoopaholic to do?

Up at 5:00 in the a.m., thanks to an onslaught of insomnia, which has him seeing a sleep doc next week. Taken care of biz, done back exercises, downed meds, read meditations, done TM, had coffee and savored morning ritual of Smucker’s Natural Crunchy on Ambrosia apples, while perusing the sports sites, C-J, NY Times, Salon, Slate, and, for counterbalance, the Drudge Report.

Checked out Awful Announcing for today’s sports schedule on TV, and read a couple of blogs that cover “Fargo Season 2.”

All before 6:50 in the a.m.

So then what’s a hoopaholic to do?

Time for a fix.

Check out Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin. Then head over to official NCAA stats site.

 * * * * *

Where I took notice that my Louisville Cardinals lead the land in Scoring Margin, at +30.3. And Rebounding Margin at +18.9.

U of L also sits in the #4 slot in Field Goal Defense Percentage at 34.6%.

All of which, given the absurdly low quality of its opponents, save for Sparty and the Billikens, may be, as I am wont to say more oft than I should, false positives.

Yet, stepping away from my now boring and constant braying about the schedule, those are not bad positions to be in. Considering the Cards are also #5 in Offensive Rebounding at 16.7 rpg, and #9 in Field Goal Percentage at 51.4%.

You know, it’s hard to complain. Though I’ll certainly always seek out a reason for it.

  * * * * *

Watched a smidge of the Kentucky game against EKU.

Like their rivals, the Cats also have a huge upside, given the annual influx of newcomers. But Coach Cal has yet to work any magic, it appears. Operative word: “yet.”

What does appear obvious is that the success of this season depends solely on the health of Tyler Ulis.¹ Derek Willis could turn into Kyle Korver, and Alex Poythress into Draymond Green, but it won’t mean a thing if TU isn’t there to swing it.

I always wonder about squads, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a newcomer for a push to ascendency. Especially if he’s a kiwi. Tai Wynyard’s his name, and Cal seems mighty ready for him to land in Lexington already. Especially odd, since the coach has never seen him play.

Kentucky will get somewhat of a test this weekend. When Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils come to town. Unfortunately for them, without the Curtain of Distraction, which doesn’t travel.

 * * * * *

Two schools, whose names appear a bunch near or at the top of those national statistics, are Oklahoma and Purdue.

The Sooners, who thrashed the Nova Loxmen from Philly — perhaps the best performance of the season outside of Carolina over the Terps — are #2 in Scoring Margin. Which is noteworthy, for they’ve played and conquered Wisconsin and Memphis State, along with Villanova. Plus, they top the rankings in Field Goal Percentage. That’s impressive, ’cause these dudes love to bomb away.

The Boilermakers are 10-0, and won by lucky 13 at Pitt, and bested the Gators by 15 at home.

Michigan State does deserve its spot at the top of the polls, having smothered Kansas, Providence and Boise State, along with U of L.

For informational purposes, Ken Pomeroy’s Top 5 in order are: Virginia, Oklahoma, Purdue, Duke and Villanova. While Jeff Sagarin’s got Purdue, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Louisville and Virginia in that order.

 * * * * *

I attempted to circumvent this sleepy time disorder I’m battling, by hitting the hay early. Which means I only this morning saw the highlights of Dayton’s comeback against Vandy in NashVegas.

Kudos to Archie Miller’s feisty Flyers, who also downed Iowa. And to Kevin Stallings for scheduling such a tough contest in December.

 * * * * *

Former U of L beat scribe for the C-J, bowtied C.L. Brown, weighed in with ESPN’s current Freshman Tracker, a shout out to the 15 best rookies as of now, their opinion.

Of the Wildcats’ superduperüber group of neophytes, only Isaiah Briscoe made the cut, thanks to his performance in defeat at Pauley.

And no Cardinals. Can’t wait to see if Spalding and/or Mitchell and/or Adel make the list come season’s denouement.

At cbssports.com, they’ve ranked the 102 best players in the land so far this season. Damion Lee sits at #24. The list, topped by Providence’s Kris Dunn, includes Isaiah Briscoe, Tyler Ulis, Skal Labissiere, and Jamal Murray, along with a couple from the underwhelming Indiana Hoosiers.

Mo’ Soon. It’s time for a nap.

— Seedy K