SHORT TAKES
• With the overall undefeated teams falling long ago, the teams that remain undefeated in conference play are getting all the attention. But in the spirit of this unpredictable season, nothing is what it's expected to be. Florida -- online analyst Ken Pomeroy's favorite to finish without a conference loss in the weak SEC -- got trounced by Arkansas on Tuesday. After losses this week by formerly perfect-in-conference-play Belmont and Southern Miss, the others remaining in a list compiled by CBS Sports: North Carolina Central (8-0 MEAC), Norfolk State (9-0 MEAC), Gonzaga (9-0 West Coast), Akron (9-0 MAC), Miami (Fla.) (9-0 ACC), Montana (13-0 Big Sky), Louisiana Tech (11-0 WAC) and Memphis (8-0 Conference USA).
• One Kansas state senator has taken it upon himself to instigate a new old-fashioned rivalry, whether the teams involved like it or not. Sen. Michael O'Donnell, R-Wichita, introduced a bill that would require Kansas and Wichita State to play each other in alternating games between the locations every other year. Initially, O'Donnell's proposal would have stripped the schools of state funding if they refused, an aspect on which he later softened -- stating he didn't want to seem "punitive" -- while adding Kansas State into the mix. "I think it would really benefit Wichita," he told the Wichita Eagle. "I could see thousands of people coming out. I think this is a win-win." So far, however, Kansas coach Bill Self is not on board.
• With all of the court-storming that has occurred in the past month -- more than a dozen, USA Today's Nicole Auerbach counts -- it's no wonder it's become a topic of conversation, especially with such strange rushings such as Wake Forest, after beating then-No. 19 North Carolina State. Some -- such as Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis -- have criticized the practice, saying it can shake a team's focus for the ensuing game or likening it to a mosh pit that has the potential to be dangerous. But others explain that showing such passion is often present is good for the sport and likely to continue so long as leagues don't implement rules (and fines) against the practice, as the SEC has.
