SETH DAVIS'S: HOOP THOUGHTS

Let's be honest: A good old-fashioned coaching feud is great for the game. Last week's sniping between Louisville's Rick Pitino and Kentucky's John Calipari, whose claim that the Wildcats were the only program that mattered in the state started this latest kerfuffle, will generate huge fan interest when the two rivals clash on Dec. 31 in Lexington... . TCU was right to join the Big 12. Going to the Big East—always a bad geographical fit—would have made even less sense after the defections of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC... . Missouri's hopes for a Big 12 title suffered a blow last week when 6' 8" senior forward Laurence Bowers (11.6 points and a team-best 6.1 boards last year) suffered a season-ending ACL injury. The Tigers will have to rely on senior Ricardo Ratliffe and 6'8" freshman Kadeem Green to pick up the rebounding slack.

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JEFF MOFFETT/ICON SMI (RATLIFFE)