- In a Chicago Tribune story about Duke assistant Chris Collins being a potential candidate to be Illinois' next basketball coach, Brian Hamilton includes an interesting paragraph about Northwestern:

As for a potential opening at Northwestern if Bill Carmody is ousted, Collins declined comment. But rest assured he would take that call, too, and again examine if the fit is right.

So let's follow the progression: Chris Collins said nothing about whether or not he would be interested in coaching at Northwestern....then an implication Chris Collins would be interested in coaching at Northwestern.

I am a bit surprised to see Collins so publicly in the mix for other jobs, as I was under the impression he was being groomed to take over at Duke when Mike Krzyzewski retires. Whether he'd actually be interested in Northwestern remains to be seen; Illinois is certainly a far more attractive job.

- Speaking of rumor mongering, SB Nation's Andrew Sharp has a fantastic piece calling out Pete Thamel for his hatchet job on top recruit Nerlens Noel.

- SB Nation's Washington Huskies blog UW Dawg Pound has a preview of tonight's NIT game.