Big 12 Hoops

National Championship Preview: (1) Kentucky vs (2) Kansas

2012-04-02T06:15:12Z

Five months ago, the Kansas Jayhawks were facing more adversity than usual heading into the season. Josh Selby, Markieff and Marcus Morris bolted for the NBA, three-point assassins Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed graduated, and three recruits, Ben McLemore, Jamari Traylor and Braeden Anderson, were all deemed ineligible for the entire year.

And yet, they're here.

No one outside of Lawrence, KS saw this coming and I'll venture to say very few people in the city imagined they'd be here.

The truth is, Bill Self is an absolute magician: there's no other way to describe it. The closest job anyone in America has done to Self's is Rick Pitino with oft-injured Louisville, but he had the luxury of returning most of his key contributors from a year ago. I'm convinced Bill Self could coach pieces of scrap metal to at least one victory in the NCAA Tournament. He's borderline great, if not already.

We've seen it in the tournament: Kansas hasn't outscored the opponent by much. Yeah they have a first-team All-American in Thomas Robinson and two guys who have gotten better as the year progressed in Jeff Withey and Tyshawn Taylor but the way they win is by locking teams down defensively. In each of their five victories, the Jayhawks have held opponents under the 70-point threshold. And Self knows what defense wins.

Across the way is another coaching artist in the college game, John Calipari. This will be his second title game appearance although the first one did not go so well against, you guessed it, Kansas. Calipari is now looked at like Dean Smith pre-1982. Will he be the best coach to not win a national championship? Can his career be vindicated in some way? Thirty years ago, Smith got his first title when North Carolina literally stole the game away from John Thompson's Georgetown Hoyas. Coincidentally enough that game was also played in the Louisiana Superdome. History makes me laugh sometimes.

And if there's a year to do it, it's this one. They're so much better than everyone else, it's almost unfair. Kentucky's Anthony Davis is the AP Player of the Year and likely No.1 pick in this year's NBA draft if/when he comes out. MIchael Kidd-Gilchrist went for 12 and 9 vs Kansas in November and he's another tough matchup. Then you remember they still have Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb from last year's Final Four team and, if I had to coach against them, I'd seriously consider giving up.

Yet for a program now known for getting commitments from one-and-dones, it is Darius Miller, a senior (yes they exist on Calipari rosters) that could hold the key to a UK victory. I looked up Miller's three-point percentage for the year and I could have sworn it was higher than 37%. That's because a year ago he shot a sizzlin 44% from downtown. Even if he isn't hitting tonight, UK can still win with relative ease but if it is going in, Kansas doesn't stand a chance.

Two blueboods in college basketball going at it for the national championship is all CBS needed for them to think of lustful, high ratings for tonight's game. Do them a favor and catch UK vs KU tonight at 8:00 central time on CBS.

Poll

Who ya got?

Kansas

42 votes

Kentucky

31 votes

73 votes | Poll has closed

Report: Frank Martin To Take South Carolina Head Coaching Job

2012-03-27T02:16:13Z

Well it appears that the relationship between Frank Martin and K-State athletic director John Currie was completely fractured as word has come down that Martin has accepted the South Carolina job. Despite the constant rumors of discord between Martin and Currie the move is still somewhat curious.

The Gamecocks won only a total of ten games last season and compete in a division with Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Missouri. Going from Kansas State to South Carolina can only be described at best as a lateral move for Martin.

Now that Martin has left K-State it will be up to Currie to try and make a home run hire to compensate for the loss. It is so early in the process that no one is quite sure of which coaches are or will be on Currie's shortlist. The name that constantly gets thrown out due to a prior relationship at Tennessee is Bruce Pearl but that would probably be considered a longshot.

This story is just getting started at Kansas State and the next few days should be interesting.

Looking for Kansas Jayhawks St. Louis Regional Tickets?

2012-03-20T15:00:44Z

It's on to the Sweet Sixteen! After an exciting first weekend, the college tourney heads to the regional games. Bigger stage, bigger match-ups, with bigger excitement surely on the way.

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NCAA Tournament Fantasy Gunner Standings

2012-03-19T15:45:04Z

So the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament has come and gone, and as you might expect, the massive amount of upsets has rocked the Gunner Pool.

But the way this works is tricky, not only should you look at who has the most number of points, but an even bigger consideration is who has the most people left in the tournament.

Now I'm not saying that because I have seven of ten guys I'm going to win, but someone like Funk or Russ Bag might want to get their checkbook out, because they've lost six of their players.

Anyways, here's the standings going into the Sweet 16. A total breakdown is after The Jump.

Totals
Snake	260
Scrizz	257
Doc	255
Gus	230
Funk	225
Russ Bag	215
Pfaff	201
Setty	160

Note: Players who are crossed out have been eliminated from the tournament.

PLAYER	SCHOOL	PLAYER TOTAL	TOTAL
Snake
Anthony Davis	Kentucky Wildcats	31
William Buford	Ohio St. Buckeyes	30
Darius Johnson-Odom	Marquette Golden Eagles	37
~~J'Covan Brown~~	~~Texas Longhorns~~	19
Tu Holloway	Xavier Musketeers	46
~~Kerron Johnson~~	~~Belmont Bruins~~	4
~~Robbie Hummel~~	~~Purdue Boilermakers~~	36
~~Mike Moser~~	~~UNLV Runnin' Rebels~~	10
Kenny Boynton	Florida Gators	28
~~Nate Wolters~~	~~South Dakota St. Jackrabbits~~	19
Total			260
Scrizz
Harrison Barnes	North Carolina Tar Heels	31
Deshaun Thomas	Ohio St. Buckeyes	49
~~John Jenkins~~	~~Vanderbilt Commodores~~	40
~~Ramone Moore~~	~~Temple Owls~~	5
Kyle Wiltjer	Kentucky Wildcats	3
Aaron Craft	Ohio St. Buckeyes	25
Kendall Marshall	North Carolina Tar Heels	29
~~Khalif Wyatt~~	~~Temple Owls~~	19
~~Jason Clark~~	~~Georgetown Hoyas~~	31
~~Otto Porter~~	~~Georgetown Hoyas~~	25
Total			257
Setty
Tyler Zeller	North Carolina Tar Heels	28
~~Ricardo Ratliffe~~	~~Missouri Tigers~~	14
~~Jeffery Taylor~~	~~Vanderbilt Commodores~~	24
Kyle Kuric	Louisville Cardinals	23
~~Ian Miller~~	~~Florida St. Seminoles~~	8
~~Phil Pressey~~	~~Missouri Tigers~~	20
Dexter Strickland	North Carolina Tar Heels	0
~~Ryan Kelly~~	~~Duke Blue Devils~~	0
Russ Smith	Louisville Cardinals	14
C.J. Leslie	N.C. State Wolfpack	29
Total			160
Gus
Doron Lamb	Kentucky Wildcats	32
Tyshawn Taylor	Kansas Jayhawks	20
~~Michael Dixon~~	~~Missouri Tigers~~	22
Keith Appling	Michigan St. Spartans	29
Dion Waiters	Syracuse Orange	30
~~Trey Burke~~	~~Michigan Wolverines~~	16
Sean Kilpatrick	Cincinnati Bearcats	26
Quincy Miller	Baylor Bears	18
~~Casper Ware~~	~~Long Beach St. 49ers~~	17
~~Andrew Nicholson~~	~~St. Bonaventure Bonnies~~	20
Total			230
Funk
Jared Sullinger	Ohio St. Buckeyes	30
Terrence Jones	Kentucky Wildcats	30
Jordan Taylor	Wisconsin Badgers	31
Jae Crowder	Marquette Golden Eagles	42
~~Will Barton~~	~~Memphis Tigers~~	16
~~Jamaal Franklin~~	~~San Diego St. Aztecs~~	23
~~Jeremy Lamb~~	~~Connecticut Huskies~~	19
~~De'Mon Brooks~~	~~Davidson Wildcats~~	5
~~Hollis Thompson~~	~~Georgetown Hoyas~~	25
~~Garrett Stutz~~	~~Wichita St. Shockers~~	4
Total			225
Pfaff
~~Marcus Denmon~~	~~Missouri Tigers~~	20
~~Kim English~~	~~Missouri Tigers~~	2
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	Kentucky Wildcats	11
Darius Miller	Kentucky Wildcats	25
John Henson	North Carolina Tar Heels	13
Pierre Jackson	Baylor Bears	33
Elijah Johnson	Kansas Jayhawks	34
Quincy Acy	Baylor Bears	11
Brandon Triche	Syracuse Orange	13
~~Drew Gordon~~	~~New Mexico Lobos~~	39
Total			201
Russ Bag
Thomas Robinson	Kansas Jayhawks	26
~~Seth Curry~~	~~Duke Blue Devils~~	7
~~Michael Snaer~~	~~Florida St. Seminoles~~	11
Marquis Teague	Kentucky Wildcats	36
~~Kevin Jones~~	~~West Virginia Mountaineers~~	13
~~Isaiah Canaan~~	~~Murray St. Racers~~	31
~~Rodney McGruder~~	~~Kansas St. Wildcats~~	45
~~Tim Hardaway Jr.~~	~~Michigan Wolverines~~	14
Brandon Wood	Michigan St. Spartans	17
Mark Lyons	Xavier Musketeers	15
Total			215
Doc
Draymond Green	Michigan St. Spartans	40
~~Austin Rivers~~	~~Duke Blue Devils~~	19
Perry Jones III	Baylor Bears	9
Kris Joseph	Syracuse Orange	23
Reggie Bullock	North Carolina Tar Heels	20
~~Doug McDermott~~	~~Creighton Bluejays~~	36
Cody Zeller	Indiana Hoosiers	30
~~Bernard James~~	~~Florida St. Seminoles~~	31
~~Henry Sims~~	~~Georgetown Hoyas~~	19
Bradley Beal	Florida Gators	28
Total			255

The Preview You Must View: (3) Baylor vs (11) Colorado

2012-03-17T18:15:03Z

About six years ago, this match-up would have generated little to no interest. Both teams were bunkmates at the bottom of the Big 12 and more times than not, this game was a shoe-in to air on ESPN Plus (y'all know what that was).

The Baylor Bears have hung around the top half of the polls all year long while the Colorado Buffaloes, the six seed in last week's Pac-12 Tournament, got their miracle run to earn the league's automatic bid.

So a year removed from the Big 12, Baylor-Colorado finally means something. A trip to the Regional Semifinals in Atlanta hang in the balance. I must be dreaming or something.

South Dakota State didn't lay down for Baylor (my boy Nate Wolters!) but that was expected. In BU's first tournament game two years ago, Sam Houston State hung tough with the Bears as well. Don't read too much into Thursday's game because after all, that team went to the Elite 8. Now with Duke out of the picture (I had Baylor beating them anyway), they face an easier road to the Regional Final.

Hopefully Perry Jones III was just shaking off first game jitters and will be back to normal tonight, but the reason they did move on was because of balance. Brady Heslip was awesome from beyond the arc (5-for-10) and Pierre Jackson was an aggressive scorer (18 points of 6-for-11). One thing that may get lost in all of this is the unselfishness of Anthony Jones. He was a starter in his first three years in Waco and now he's coming off the bench and making an impact (11 points on 4-for-5 vs SDSU).

When the Big 12 Championship game was on commercial last Saturday, I watched a little bit of the Colorado-Arizona game and that was some horrible basketball. Passes going out-of bounds. Shot after shot missed. I'm talking about BOTH teams here.

But that was a different Buffaloes team I saw on Thursday. UNLV's a team most thought would be able to get to Regionals and for a good chunk of the game, Colorado was blowing them out. Tad Boyle's a great coach. Nate Tomlinson (Another one! That's gotta be some record!) is a senior that can be solid at times and other times look lost. You may know that Utah transfer Carlon Brown has been a YouTube sensation for years and even I remember Andre Roberson's uncanny ability to rebound the basketball. The Buffs have a legitimate shot to get this one.

Hopefully both teams didn't shred their scouting reports on each other.

Baylor-Colorado can be seen tonight at approximately 7:40 central time (or shortly after the Vanderbilt-Wisconsin game ends) on TNT.

The Preview You Must View: (1) Kentucky vs (8) Iowa State

2012-03-17T16:15:02Z

So, learn anything good yesterday? I learned my bracket is pretty much useless to me now.

Before continuing I want pass along condolences to Evan and the entire Missouri fanbase. Duke, on the other hand, had it coming to them. Because they're Duke.

The Big 12 has a big day ahead of them but no game has greater importance than Kentucky-Iowa State.

Wouldn't that be something else if Royce White and company pull off the monumental upset? It's hard to imagine but it might be crazy enough to come true.

The Kentucky Wildcats played like a well-oiled machine throughout the year and it's not hard to figure out how they did it. John Calipari once again reeled in the top recruiting class in America and all four make regular contributions. Anthony Davis though is the best player on the team and that's really saying something. You've probably heard of how Davis, a point guard at first, grew eight inches in his senior year to top out at 6-10. Since I began watching him play, I'm always looking for an apparent flaw to his game but I always come away unsuccessful. Earlier in the year, it might have been lack of a jump shot but now he's started to hit those with regularity.

Then there's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who had a fantastic start to the season and then went a little hot-and-cold in conference play, which is normal for a freshman. Marquis Teague has been a capable PG when he's not turning the ball over. And they still have a couple of holdovers from last year's Final Four team in Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. This is easily the most talented team since the '09 Tar Heels.

Iowa State made a lot of analysts and NBA GMs unhappy with their win over Connecticut Thursday. I thought Chris Allen played like a seasoned tournament vet should play and White's game had Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery salivating over themselves. But in a game where the opponent has superior talent, the three ball has got to be going in. Remember the Baylor win at Hilton? Cyclones hit nine threes that day. Another example is the first-half of their game at Kansas. Iowa State were hitting triples and kept the Jayhawks at arms length for a while.

But the lesson from that game is to not let the three-point shot be your only shot. The Cyclones hit nine threes but only after hoisting up 28 attempts. They shouldn't get too one-dimensional or Kentucky will pounce on them.

Kentucky-Iowa State will be played after the conclusion of the Murray State-Marquette game (that will air today at 4:15 central time) on CBS.

The Preview You Must View: (2) Kansas vs (15) Detroit

2012-03-16T17:30:54Z

So much for that rebuilding year, huh? Kansas exceeded everyone's expectations this season by going 27-6 overall and 16-2 in the Big 12 and clinching the regular season conference title. Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey — and of course your potential National Player of the Year and all around behemoth Thomas Robinson — proved that there is no such thing as a down year for Bill Self.

Kansas has a bad track record with falling to mid-majors in the Tourney (see: Bucknell, Bradley, Northern Iowa, VCU), but Jayhawk fans shouldn't be too worried this year. Detroit, who nabbed the Horizon League title and earned an automatic bid, is no Butler.

The Titans went 22-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play. They have some solid talent, including sophomore guard Ray McCallum, Jr. (15.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 3.9 apg) who is the coach's son and who Bill Self tried to recruit. But the Titans are weak on defense. Expect to see Robinson and Taylor go to town.

According to the New York Times, the best reason to watch the game is Doug Anderson, Detroit's 6'6'' dunking machine. But Anderson and McCallum shouldn't be enough to stop the Jayhawks from sailing on to the next round.

The game is at the very precise time of 8:57 CST and airs on TruTV. The winner will face either (7) St. Mary's or (10) Purdue.

The Preview You Must View: (2) Missouri Tigers vs (15) Norfolk State Spartans

2012-03-16T15:00:33Z

Bet you've never heard this one before: "This team is SO big, the Missouri Tigers will have a hard time against them." Well, that's what they're saying about today's matchup between Mizzou and the Norfolk St. Spartans.

Sure, the Spartans' leading scorer is 6-10, 240 lb Kyle O'Quinn, and sure Mizzou's tallest starter is 6-8 Ricardo Ratliffe, but Mizzou has been undersized the entire year, and they roll into the tournament with a 30-4 record.

Convention wisdom says that you have to have strong interior play to win, but time and time again Mizzou has proven that if you can outshoot, outhustle and out play your opposition, size isn't the only determining factor.

But you're reading Big 12 Hoops, so you already know this.

Alongside O'Quinn, Norfolk State relies on a pair of 6-6 guards, Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin. There's no doubt that there is some size there, but with Phil Pressey, Marcus Denmon and Kim English, size is neutralized by outside shooting, and that trio sure can hit an open jumper.

So while Norfolk might try and isolate O'Quinn, Mizzou should be able to extend the D far enough to give them good outside looks, and dribble-drive penetration.

Height neutralized.