9:15 p.m., Friday: This weekend's starting five:

1. Pink hightops. It's a shocking fashion statement Creighton will sport at the Qwest Center Omaha Saturday but it's for a great cause: breast cancer awareness. Just ask CU coach Greg McDermott, whose wife Theresa is a breast cancer survivor. The cause is near and dear to Coach Mac, who will sport a pair of pink boats himself. Meanwhile, it's a "Pink Out'' for Saturday's Indiana State game. Real men wear pink.

2. Lance Jeter. Husker Hoops faces the beginning of a key stretch to its season, with 13th-ranked Texas A&M at home followed by a month with Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri and K-State visiting the Devaney Center. It figures to be a grind. Good thing Nebraska has the steady hands of Jeter, the tough senior point guard. Jeter is averaging 10.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.2 steals in Big 12 play. When the Huskers didn't have a lot going on at Texas Tech, Jeter stepped up and tried to put the team on his back. He'll need help down the stretch. But Jeter's a gutsy leader. Point guards, especially those of the solid variety, are priceless.

3. Josh Jones. Since returning to the Creighton starting lineup three games ago, Jones is averaging 10.0 points and made seven-of-15 three pointers. The outside threat has been a welcome dimension, especially with Ethan Wragge still out. Just a side note for any old-school NBA fans out there: Jones' left-handed release is reminiscent of Dick Barnett, the former New York Knicks backcourt mate of Walt "Clyde'' Frazier. Except Jones doesn't kick his legs back as he shoots. We can work on that.

4. The NCAA. The archaic organization has a rule book thicker than the white pages and can be stiffer than starch. But this week the NCAA showed a softer, compassionate side, allowing Kansas to pay for sophomore Thomas Robinson to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend his mother's funeral. Ironically, 21 years ago, the NCAA put Kansas on probation because KU coach Larry Brown had paid a player's travel expenses to attend a funeral. Better late than never, NCAA.

5. Bill Self. To continue the KU theme, the Jayhawks' head coach caught some flack this week in the KC media for flying his entire team to D.C. for the Robinson funeral. Some say it was a distraction and too much emotional baggage for the team. It says here it was not only the right thing to do, it could pay dividends later this season. This is the kind of thing that can bring a team together. And you can be sure Robinson will not forget the gesture.

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