Frank Burlison

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Coach Rick Majerus’ Saint Louis basketball team is off to a 5-0 start but no one – least of all Majerus – is deluding himself about what that record might be in March.

“We’re only five games into the season – it’s early,” he said Friday afternoon after the Billikens’ decisive 80-68 victory over previously unbeaten Villanova during a semifinal of the 76 Classic in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.

The Billikens, who will face Oklahoma in Sunday evening’s championship game, are assembling a respectable resume for an at-large bid, should that be the path they have to follow into the NCAA Tournament field on March 12.

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Well, until something better shows up (maybe next week?), it’s safe to designate the Duke-Kansas Maui Invitational championship game as the most compelling contest in the early portion of the 2011-12 season.

Both teams exceeded my expectations in Lahaina.

The Blue Devils finally prevailed, 68-61, in large part because of consecutive – and unlikely – 3-point shots by sophomore reserve guard Tyler Thornton.

But the biggest reason Mike Krzyzewski’s club prevailed over Tennessee, Michigan and, finally, the Jayhawks, was the play of its post players.

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A quick mid-Wednesday morning spin around the world of college basketball:

*I’ll be spending all of Thanksgiving in the Anaheim (CA) Convention Arena, watching the four games played in the 76 Classic.

And, yes, my wife (Julie) knew what she was signing on for when she married me more than four years ago . . .

*During the 2010, the national – and regional – perception of the Pacific 10 Conference couldn’t have been more trampled upon.

The only teams to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament were the regular-season champion California Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies.

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Here is the first of what will be a weekly look at strong candidates for the John R. Wooden Award:

Jeremy Lamb (6-6/Soph/Connecticut)

Frank Says: Not quite two weeks into the season, he’s the most complete player I’ve seen (in person or on TV). There isn’t a more complete perimeter-oriented player in the country and he’s a significant reason why the Huskies can win a second consecutive national title. He’ll be strongly in the hunt to be the first player chosen in the next NBA Draft.

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Thoughts on the double-overtime game played between the USC and Nebraska teams Monday in the Trojans’ Galen Center, won by the Huskers, 64-61:

*Doc Sadler’s Nebraska team doesn’t have any future NBA players but it has a chance to win 20-plus games and maybe – especially during a season when the Big 12 definitely isn’t as strong, top to bottom, as it has been in the past – can get a top-five finish in conference and get into the NCAA Tournament.

*LSU transfer Bo Spencer of the Huskers was the best player on the floor, scoring a game-high 22 points while hitting seven of 16 shots from the floor (including three 3s) and five of seven at the free-throw line, with seven rebounds and three assists.

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