SB Nation - Arizona Wildcats

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

Evan Pfaff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Could a University of Houston QB be soon hoisting the Big 12 Championship trophy? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Today the Big Ten conference issued a statement that they are exploring the possibility of expanding.

Every few years we hear the same rumblings and every few years there are articles published about what realignment would look like. But not since Penn State was admitted into the Big Ten has anything official been released. With that, below is the definitive article on the topic.

And even though this is a basketball blog, I will focus on the BCS aspect of realignment to argue my points. I will discuss basketball, though, and all points held for football can loosely translate over to hoops as well.

Currently there are six BCS conferences and those 6 all get automatic BCS-bowl bids. Those conferences are Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC. Of those six, three of the conferences have enough football teams to have a conference championship game (the Big East would have enough if more of their charter schools had D1 football programs).

Part of the BCS issue is that you have some conferences without 12 schools, who don't currently have conference championship games. Adding conference championship games will ultimately help the BCS by crowing, on a field, a true conference champ. This will help with BCS bowl bids, and especially the BCS championship game. (Think of a rule where you have to at least win your division to get a BCS bid.

The other BCS issue is of the non-BCS schools and where they should lie. My realignment program take that into account.

Without further ado, after The Jump is the Big12Hoops.com Realignment plan.

MIZZOU MOVES TO THE BIG 10.

Why is this good for the Big 10? By admitting Mizzou into the Big 10, the Big 10 would secure a coveted TV market, namely St Louis. They would also get a share of the Kansas City TV market. By expanding westward, revenues from the Big 10 Network and apparel sales would grow. The Big 10 would also secure a 12^th team and legitimize a conference championship game. The divisions would be as follow:

Big 10 East: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Penn State

Big 10 West: Mizzou, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Under this scenario all regional rivalries remain in tact

Why is this good for Mizzou? The Big 12 seems to forget about schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas (basketball). There is no television network, so Mizzou's games are generally only regionally shown. There is Big Monday for basketball, but that is mainly reserved for Texas and KU. Under this, Mizzou's football games could be carried on the Big 10 Network and basketball games will be tied into the Big 10 ESPN deal. All this leads to a major recruiting advantage in both revenue generating sports.

Mizzou also has a rival in Illinois that would heat up instantly and the heated rivalry with Kansas will replace the Illinois basketball and football games on the schedules. Instead of St Louis, though, the KU games will be played at the Sprint Center and Arrowhead in KC.

But what about... Iowa State? The Cyclones seem to also be a natural fit and could easily add fuel to the rivalry with in-state foe Iowa Hawkeyes. The problem is that the Big 10 gains little from that arrangement. They are already pretty entrenched in the Hawkeye State and the addition of ISU wouldn't help their regional or national reputation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON JOINS THE BIG XII

Why is this good for the Big 12? The University of Houston is a large campus, in a region of Texas that is currently underdeveloped with college sports. Houston is the 4^th largest city in the country, and by planting a team there, the Big 12 will get even more Texas viewership.

The big question would be on alignment, since there will now be 5 Texas schools. My proposal is for

Big 12 "North": Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big 12 "South": Texas, Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Colorado

The division names will have to be rebranded, but adding Colorado to the South is acceptable because Coloradoans joke that there are more Texans in the state than natives.

Why is this good for Houston? Historically, the Cougars have had a good football team, and have won a basketball national championship. Having a Big XII logo on their court will increase their recruiting presence in the city and state and potentially turn them into powerhouse.

But what about... TCU? TCU would be a good choice, if they were bigger. Their 8000 student just wouldn't cut it if the conference wishes to remain the BIG 12. Houston's enrollment is approximately 30,000 students. Commuter school or not, Houston would help retain the "Big" in Big 12.

BYU AND UTAH GO TO THE PAC-10

Why is this good for the Pac-10? By including Utah and BYU into the Pac-10, the conference will have the 12 schools needed for an automatic conference championship games. Both programs have historically legitimate football and basketball programs, and they will bring their rivalry with them. Geographically, they are far enough West to warrant admission into the conference.

The division would be as follows

Pac-10 North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, BYU, Utah

Pac-10 South: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Why is this good for BYU and Utah? Both recruit well from the West, and inclusion into the conference will aid that. And by coming over as a pair (and as rivals) they bring legitimacy to the expansion eastward.

But what about... geography? The state of Utah doesn't border any states of current Pac-10 members, and that may cause some issues, but distance isn't really something the conference has ever regarded. Consider that Tucson, AZ to Seattle, WA is 1100 miles, or 400 miles farther than Tucson to Provo, UT.

ADD MORE TEAMS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Why is this good for the Mountain West? As it stands under this scenario, the Mountain West is down to 7 members (the current 9, minus BYU and Utah). To get up with the big boys, the MWC needs to add 5 schools. The 5 that should move to the MWC should be: Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Rice, SMU.

There is already talk of Boise coming over to the MWC, so that is a no brainer. The others are coming over as "rivals" to existing MWC schools. Nevada will face UNLV, New Mexico State will pair with New Mexico, Rice and SMU will pit against TCU is a three-way battle for Texas.

Having 12 schools will allow the conference to host a championship game, matching the winners of each division, which would be as follows:

MWC North: UNLV, Nevada, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, Boise State

MWC South: San Diego State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, TCU, Rice, SMU

Why is this good for the 5 programs? The shift from either the C-USA or WAC will legitimize the programs (see the next point). All will also enter the new MWC with a foe. Everyone wins.

But what about... the MWC still remaining relatively minute as compared to their BCS brethren? Why would these schools shift from one conference to another, just for shits and giggles? See next point.

ADMIT THE MOUNTAIN WEST INTO THE BCS

Why is this good for the BCS? Controversy will mainly be avoided. By admitting the redesigned MWC into the BCS you are accepting the current BCS gate crashers. You are bringing in the current at-large schools causing heartache and giving yourself another conference champion that the country can latch onto.

Why is this good for the MWC? Why isn't it good for the MWC?

But what about... the C-USA and WAC? These two conferences are now in shambles. What to do? See next item.

MERGE THE C-USA AND WAC

Why is this good for the two conferences? Because of the success of some of their schools, and regional ability to move, the Conference USA and WAC are currently left in shambles (under this proposal). Essentially afterthoughts as they are, now they are left with 15 schools between them. They could either split them up 8 and 7 or combine forces and form a 15 league mega conference. In terms of basketball, as we have seen with the Big East, and their 16 school hoops conference, too many schools doesn't water down the pool.

But what about... regionality? The C-USA is currently a conglomerate of throw-ins from around the country. Under this plan, that would just increase to a truly national conference. The members of it would be: Fresno St, Hawaii, Idaho, La Tech, San Jose St, Utah St, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Cent Florida, ECU, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss

Using the scenario outlined above, 18 schools will change conferences. This sounds like a lot, but as you can see many will be moving as groups and either with or to a rival.

But what about the Big East? Well, the Big East is the one conference I am leaving alone. In their football world, they are lacking the 12 members to create a championship game. But when you include their basketball members, they are a 16-team powerhouse.

One final thought. I reserve the right to claim this entire scenario null and void if Notre Dame ever decides to join the Big 10. If that were to happen, I would still endorse some shifting, but nothing to the extent of this proposal. More on that if a Notre Dame to the Big 10 rumor starts getting some legitimate traction.

Pac-10 Basketball Looks Thoroughly Mediocre This Year

ragnarok — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:18 -0000

by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Is this the Pac-10's signature win so far this season?

View full size photo »

Quick, can you name the marquee non-conference win by a Pac-10 team so far this basketball season? No?

That's because there isn't one.

In fact, looking for a 'best' win so far by a Pac-10 team (I'm using the term 'best' very loosely here), and you might come up with Cal's season-opening five-point win over Murray State. Murray State? No, that can't be right, can it? Well, since losing at Cal to open the season, Murray State has raced (HA! Get it? "Raced"? Because they're the Racers? What's that, you didn't know that? Oh, some of you had never even heard of Murray State? Oh...) to an 8-1 record. Yes, it's been a nothing schedule, and Tuesday's game at Louisiana Tech may be the toughest remaining game on their slate, but this is poised to being a win the Bears can look to in March with pride, something not many Pac-10 teams have right now.

Through the first half of December, the Pac-10 has been, well, not exactly dreadful, but certainly not good in any sense of the word. Collectively, they've mostly avoided truly embarrassing loses, but at the same time, they've achieved basically zero wins of note. They are firmly the wost of the six BCS conferences, and may not even be as good as 6th overall out of all the conferences. Yes, it's been that bad.

Let's go ahead and take a look at the Pac-10's collective record at this point. Overall, the 10 teams are 50-36, but when we start to break that down, we start to see how thoroughly undistinguished that record is.

To get a better handle on all these teams, I used both Ken Pomeroy's rankings (based on his super-secret formula looking at a number of statistical correlations) and Jeff Sagarin's 'Predictor' ratings (based on margin-of-victory). Generally, these ratings agreed with each other, and most teams were rated by both rankings within about 5-10 places, and no more than 15 that I found, but using both gives me a little more confidence in this analysis. In listing a team's ranking, Pomeroy's ranking is first, followed by Sagarin's, in parentheses.

Generally, we should expect that good teams can beat everyone, mediocre teams can beat bad ones but lose to good ones, and bad teams will lose to most everyone. Well, by that standard, the Pac-10 is the very definition of mediocre.

Pac-10 Non-Conference Record (games through Sunday, December 13)
Overall - 50-36
vs. Top 25 - 0-12
vs. Top 50 - 1-19
vs. Top 100 - 8-31
vs. everyone else - 42-5

With a few exceptions, Pac-10 teams have managed to beat up on (or at least get past) the little guys, but they've been mostly impotent against teams with a pulse. 0-12 vs. Top 25 teams? A losing record is no shame, but getting shut out sure hurts the league's credibility. Worse is the 1-19 mark against the Top 50. That one win? Cal over Murray State (46,49), a team barely in the Top 50. Oy.

Things get a little better with lower-rated teams, but it's still a 7-12 mark vs. teams rated between 51-100, and of those seven wins (Cal @ Pacific (67,74), Cal vs. Iowa State (80,67), Stanford vs. Virginia (98,103), Washington vs. Wright State (88,89), Washington vs. Belmont (75,79), Washington vs. Montana (96,93), and Oregon State @ George Washington (92,97)), none stand out as a basketball power. And the less said about the conference's 2-8 mark (so far) in the Pac-10 / Big 12 Hardwood Series, the better.

With regards to the NCAA tournament, the Pac-10 traditionally tends to be a four-to-six bid league, but at this point, even four sounds like a stretch to me. We might be looking at a three-bid year, and that's provided that three teams can distinguish themselves in conference play. There's a few more chances at the league picking up some marquee wins to help win an at-large bid or two, but on the whole, Pac-10 teams are going to have to stand on their own in front of the selection committee -- they won't be able to draw on their league's strength as in years' past.

Here's how each team stands from this point forward. Good wins are those over teams rated in the Top 100; bad losses are to those to teams outside the Top 100.

California (6-3)
Good Wins: Murray State (46, 49), @Pacific (67, 74), Iowa State (80, 67)
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining: @Kansas (2, 4)

Three good (though not great) wins, and three very acceptable losses to teams in the Top 25 (Syracuse, Ohio State and New Mexico have a combined 26-2 record so far) mean the Bears are in (relatively) decent shape so far. Getting a win at Kansas would be HUGE, though it's neither expected nor necessary. Still, Sagarin's Predictor would put the Bears at just a six-point dog in Lawrence right now -- amazingly, his system would actually favor Cal if the game were played in Haas -- so they must be doing something right. Still not enough margin of error to feel complacent heading into conference play, where the Bears will face far more opportunities for bad losses than for good wins.

Stanford (5-3)
Good Wins: Virginia (98, 103)
Bad Losses: @San Diego (142, 132), Oral Roberts (150, 162)
Tough Opponents Remaining: Oklahoma State (55, 50), @Northwestern (63, 77), @Texas Tech (45, 44)

Plenty of juice left on the Cardinal's schedule, though it's going to take more than one good win to balance out the shame of losing at home to Oral Roberts. Hanging tough with Kentucky was a surprise, but college basketball is neither horseshoes nor hand grenades. Stanford has plenty of work to do if they want to get to any kind of tournament this year.

UCLA (2-6)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses: Cal St. Fullerton (219, 220)
Tough Opponents Remaining: @Notre Dame (95, 88)

We all knew the Bruins would take a step back this year, considering all the talent they lost to the NBA and graduation, but losing at home to Cal State - Fullerton?!?? For the most part, the rest of their losses have been at least respectable (well, the opponents have been, if not their performances), but considering they lost both ends of a tournament in their own backyard (Anaheim) and have yet to either leave Southern California or beat an opponent in the Top 200, one can understand how Bruins fans might be in panic mode just a year and a half removed from their third consecutive Final Four appearance. At some point, UCLA is going to have to start winning games, and a visit to Notre Dame (their first trip this year not on a bus) this Saturday would be an advisable place to start.

USC (4-4)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses: Loyola Marymount (151, 146)
Tough Opponents Remaining: Tennessee (8, 5), *UNLV (89, 81), *St. Mary's (15, 12)

USC's overall record is better than UCLA's, but that may have more to do with their light scheduling -- they've beaten no one of note and lost to Loyola Marymount at home. The Tennessee Volunteers come to town on Saturday, and the Trojans might get a couple of good opponents at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawai'i. Without beating at least a couple of those teams, the Trojans may very well have to repeat their feat from last year -- winning the Pac-10 Tournament and its automatic bid to the NCAAs.

Washington State (8-2)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining:

Talk about unremarkable -- Wazzu has managed to get 10 games into their schedule without putting a single mark on their résumé. No shame in losing at Gonzaga or Kansas State, but at some point, the NCAA tournament committee does expect at-large teams to beat someone with a pulse.

Washington (6-2)
Good Wins: Wright State (88, 89), Belmont (75, 79), Montana (96, 93)
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining: Texas A&M (41, 33), Portland (84, 99)

Other than Cal, Washington is probably in the best shape in the Pac-10, and considering their best wins are at home over Wright State, Belmont and Montana, that's not saying much. The losses (neutral floor vs. Georgetown, in overtime at Texas Tech) are both acceptable, but like the Bears, the Huskies are still searching for a win that they can really hang their hat on.

Oregon (4-4)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining:

A résumé as ordinary as Washington State's, though a 4-4 record isn't a great start, especially with a couple of those losses coming at home. Losing to Montana at home might not be the worst thing in the world, but it's certainly not great. Like the Cougars, the Ducks will have to wait for conference play to make a mark, and they're really going to have to get it done within the league if they want a postseason bid.

Oregon State (4-4)
Good Wins: @George Washington (92, 97)
Bad Losses: Sacramento State (281, 280)
Tough Opponents Remaining:

Winning at George Washington? That's good! Losing at home to Sacramento State? That's bad. Terrible, in fact. The worst loss suffered by a Pac-10 team so far, and that's saying something. The fightin' Craig Robinsons have a bit of work to do if they want to make something of this season.

Arizona State (7-3)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining: San Diego State (32, 28)

ASU is another team without a good or bad mark to their name so far. Losses to Duke and BYU are totally acceptable, Baylor at home a little less so, but once again, you're eventually going to get a good win on the docket, and San Diego State next Saturday is the last shot they've got before they host Washington in January.

Arizona (4-5)
Good Wins:
Bad Losses:
Tough Opponents Remaining: Brigham Young (14, 14), North Carolina State (73, 76)

Arizona has played its typical bruising non-conference schedule, but usually they manage to get a win or two out of that. So far this year? Not so much. Their best win so far? Take your pick between Louisiana Tech at home or Colorado on a neutral court in overtime. I'm not impressed, and neither will be the selection committee.

Poll

How many teams will the Pac-10 get into the NCAA tournament?

Cougars' remaining non-conference schedule breakdown

sroufe — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:03:33 -0000

More photos » by Patrick Smith - AP

Get used to this people... BYU forward Brandon Davies (0) is just getting started in Provo... (AP Photo/Patrick Smith)

Browse more photos »

Here's a preview of the next six non-MWC contests facing the Cougars over the holidays and heading into conference play next month...

Remaining Non-Conference Games:

BYU vs. Wagner - Thursday, December 17
7 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: BYUTV

The Seahawks hail from Staten Island. They are currently 1-7 and their best-known opponent thus far has been Bucknell, who beat Wagner by 24 in New York. Prediction - Cougars 96, Seahawks 60.

BYU vs. Eastern Washington - Saturday, December 19
7 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: BYUTV

Rodney Stuckey's alma mater is 4-5 but has been competitive in most of their matchups this season. The Eagles most recently lost to Seattle at home in overtime (The same Seattle that beat Utah in Salt Lake and Fresno State in Washington. Their star, Charles Garcia is getting serious NBA attention.). This is a very winnable game for the Cougars at home but senior Brandon Moore could give them problems inside. Prediction - Cougars 89, Eagles 76.

BYU vs. Nevada - Tuesday, December 22
HoopTV Las Vegas Classic - Las Vegas (Orleans Arena)
1 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: BYUTV

This tournament game was originally scheduled for 8:30 pm, but was moved up due to the Cougars contest in the Las Vegas Bowl that evening. BYU has played very well in Orleans Arena in the past - games against Louisville and North Carolina come to mind - but Nevada should have some fans and this is by no means an automatic win. The Cougars have already lost to one WAC opponent and can't afford to lose another. The Wolfpack is currently 4-4 but their losses have all been to quality competition: North Carolina, UOP, UNLV and VCU. The game against EWU will be a good test for the Cougars' post players going against Moore in preparation for Nevada's Luke Babbitt. The sophomore forward is the latest NBA prospect to come out of Reno and has recorded 7 consecutive double-doubles. Prediction - Cougars 74, Wolfpack 71

BYU vs. Nebraska or Tulsa - Wednesday, December 23
HoopTV Las Vegas Classic - Las Vegas (Orleans Arena)
Time - TBA; TV: BYUTV

Nebraska is 7-2 so far and have already knocked off two PAC-10 opponents: USC (in L.A.) and Oregon State. BYU assistant Walter Roese (the surname is pronounced with an 'H' not an 'R) is now coaching in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers are winning with some very impressive defense, holding both of the aforementioned schools below 50 points. This could be a scrappy contest should the Cougars draw Nebraska and BYU will need Tavernari or someone other than Fredette and Haws to really step it up offensively. Prediction - Cougars 64, Cornhuskers 58

Tulsa is also a quality program and potentially a tough matchup for BYU. They are 7-1 and crushed Oklahoma State earlier this month in Tulsa. The Hurricane's lone loss came to Missouri State in Springfield. (Missouri State (9-0) will probably be ranked soon as they have also beaten Auburn and Air Force pretty convincingly.) Tulsa has one of the best centers in the country in Jerome Jordan. Jordan might have been a first-round selection had he made himself eligible last June. If the Cougars can't get their perimeter shots to fall it will be very, very difficult to score on Jordan inside. Prediction - Golden Hurricane 78, Cougars 75

BYU vs Arizona - Monday, December 28 at Tucson
7 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: Fox College Sports (FCS)

This will be an exciting matchup between two of the better point guards in the West. Wildcats' guard Nic Wise remains from last years' Sweet-16 team (with Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill). Arizona has officially begun the post-Lute Olson era however, and Sean Miller is a terrific coach. You should remember him from when he coached Xavier past the Cougars in the 2007 tourney. The Wildcats have been somewhat of a disappointment thus far, as despite it being a rebuilding year in Tucson they have dropped winnable contests to Wisconsin on the road and UNLV at home. Most recently they were destroyed at home by San Diego State. Could Arizona really lose to three MWC opponents in one season? Yes. Prediction - Cougars 70, Wildcats 64.

BYU vs. Eastern New Mexico - Saturday, January 2
7 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: TBA

ENM is located in Portales and is a small school with about 4,300 students. Interestingly, their men's (Greyhounds) and women's (Zia's) athletic teams have different mascots. The Greyhounds are 4-4 on the season with their marquee win being against the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. This will be a good learning experience for the Greyhounds. Remember that win over Southern? Prediction - Cougars 110, Greyhounds 62

(First conference game scheduled for Wednesday, January 6 vs. UNLV in Provo)

BYU vs. UTEP - Saturday, January 9 at El Paso
6 PM Tipoff (MST); TV: CBS College Sports

The Miners are 5-1 thus far but they haven't really played anyone. Their lone loss was at home to New Mexico State. That had to have been a bummer since they had just beaten the Aggies two weeks earlier by 21 in Las Cruzes. So despite the Cougars going on the road, this should really be the calm before the storm of conference competition. Prediction - Cougars 90, Miners 71

Summary:

Before the season began I asserted that BYU's depth and somewhat weaker schedule this season could permit them to have a quality record headed into MWC competition:

"The Cougars should have a very good record going into conference play. That's 15 games into the season and I see no reason why BYU can't be 13-2 at that point."

The Cougars currently sit at 8-1 and their remaining six non-conference contests are all highly winnable. In fact you could probably assume that the games against Wagner and the Eastern Washington and New Mexico's are automatic despite that being a bit hubristic on my part. I also expect the Cougars to have a good showing in the Las Vegas Classic.

The last two games against Arizona State and Fresno State are a sign of things to come. Opponents are now familiar enough with Fredette that they are going to seal off the lane and force the Cougars wing-players to make their mid-range to outside jumpers. Luckily for BYU Tyler Haws and/or Jackson Emery have done just that. You can't say enough good things about Haws' play so far. We certainly anticipated him being a big-time player and even a contributor to the team this season. However, I wasn't expecting him to be playing over 30 minutes a game, rebounding like a kangaroo on crack and consistently making clutch plays down the stretch of games.

But the best thing about this is Tavernari. He's been abysmal shooting from, well, everywhere but the FT line. That's obviously not what's great. What's wonderful is that he's not going to get any worse. JT is shooting 10% below his season average from last year and easily 7% worse behind the arc than any season he's spent in Provo. His minutes are down, his rebounding is down, his assists are down - but all that is going to change.

These last few non-conference games will provide Tavernari the opportunity to get his confidence back. The games against Wagner and EWU may be just what the doctor ordered - and returning to Orleans Arena where JT has excelled in the past (and where he is familiar having played high school ball in Vegas) could really break him out of this funk. Just in time for conference play.

Additionally, young players like Haws, Davies and others like Abouo and Hartsock are only going to continue to improve. Hartsock has shown that the past couple of games (13 points against the Sun Devils and 11 boards against the Bulldogs) and is now starting at the four. This team is deep. As deep as any I can remember.

If the Cougars do manage to come into MWC play with only one or two losses they will be positioning themselves for a better tournament seed come March. So while UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State have all been impressive, BYU is the three-time defending champs and their future is looking just as bright as their past.

Updated BYU statistics after the jump...

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Jimmer Fredette	9	31.7	5.6	13.0	42.7	1.8	4.2	42.1	5.8	6.2	92.9	1.0	2.3	3.3	5.8	2.7	1.8	0.2	1.0	18.7
Jackson Emery	9	24.0	3.8	7.6	50.0	2.8	5.8	48.1	1.8	2.2	80.0	0.6	3.2	3.8	1.6	1.2	2.7	0.1	3.1	12.1
Jonathan Tavernari	9	25.4	4.0	11.7	34.3	1.7	5.4	30.6	0.9	1.1	80.0	0.6	4.4	5.0	1.2	1.1	1.3	0.2	2.0	10.6
Tyler Haws	9	26.6	3.6	7.3	48.5	0.4	2.0	22.2	2.3	2.8	84.0	1.4	2.7	4.1	1.6	1.1	0.7	0.2	2.0	9.9
Noah Hartsock	9	21.8	2.7	4.0	66.7	0.1	0.1	100.0	0.8	1.0	77.8	1.2	3.9	5.1	0.6	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.6	6.2
Chris Miles	9	15.9	2.1	3.8	55.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.2	81.8	1.3	2.4	3.8	0.8	0.4	0.3	0.6	2.2	5.2
Charles Abouo	9	12.0	1.4	3.4	41.9	0.3	0.8	42.9	1.7	2.1	78.9	1.1	1.3	2.4	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.4	1.7	4.9
Michael Loyd, Jr.	9	13.1	1.7	2.7	62.5	0.8	1.4	53.8	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	1.1	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.7	4.3
Brandon Davies	9	12.0	1.4	2.1	68.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	1.8	62.5	1.1	2.0	3.1	0.4	1.2	0.2	0.6	2.3	4.0
Lamont Morgan, Jr.	9	9.7	0.9	1.3	66.7	0.2	0.3	66.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.4	1.9	0.6	0.3	0.0	0.2	2.0
James Anderson	8	4.1	0.4	0.9	42.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3	50.0	0.6	0.5	1.1	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	1.1	0.9
Logan Magnusson	7	3.7	0.3	0.9	33.3	0.1	0.3	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	1.3	1.7	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.7
Brock Zylstra	6	2.0	0.3	0.7	50.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7

Poll

What will the Cougars' record be going into conference play?

RPI WATCH: 12/07/09

BracketCat — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:00:16 -0000

It was a fairly quiet Sunday, all things considered.

Kansas beat UCLA, although not as bad as they should have, and Oklahoma whooped struggling Arizona to drive the Big 12 to a commanding 8-2 lead in the Hardwood Series. Pac-10, thou art our bitch for the year.

Meanwhile, Nebraska did their level best to squander all that conference good feeling not just by nearly ejecting Texas from the BCS National Championship, but also by losing to freakin' Creighton again. Maybe USC just sucked...

And Boston took the first step toward salvaging its woeful RPI by knocking off everyone's favorite orange surrogate, Bucknell.

Numbers are after the jump.

Current Kansas State Record = 7-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 10

Current Kansas State SOS = 17

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = none

Loyola (5-2, 1-1) | RPI = 30
Western Illinois (3-5, 0-2) | RPI = 301
Boston (3-6) | RPI = 156: Win over Bucknell (63-53)
Ole Miss (7-1) | RPI = 18
Dayton (5-2) | RPI = 45
IUPUI (7-2, 2-0) | RPI = 79
FHSU (5-1)
Washington State (6-2) | RPI = 153
Xavier (5-2) | RPI = 77
No. 24 UNLV (7-0) | RPI = 12
Alabama (6-2) | RPI = 82
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (3-6, 0-2) | RPI = 222
South Dakota (5-3) | RPI = 143
Missouri (5-2) | RPI = 92
No. 19 Texas A&M (7-1) | RPI = 19
Colorado (5-3) | RPI = 226
No. 2 Texas (6-0) | RPI = 2
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (7-0) | RPI = 39: Win at UCLA (73-61)
Nebraska (5-2) | RPI = 112: Loss at Creighton (67-61)
Iowa State (6-3) | RPI = 187
Oklahoma (5-3) | RPI = 240: Win over Arizona (79-62)
Texas Tech (8-0) | RPI = 42

Sooners Pound Wildcats Behind Warren’s 25

ccmachine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:46:45 -0000

For the first time this season Oklahoma's men's basketball team dominated a game from start to finish in their 79-62 win over Arizona. Steven Pledger's free throw put the Sooners up 20-9 at the 12:03 mark of the first half and the game was never in doubt. Willie Warren led all scorers with 25 points followed by Tiny Gallon (14), Tony Crocker (13) and Tommy Mason-Griffin (10).

Of course as usual there are still some concerns about this team and their performance, like getting beat on the boards (32-28) and a bit of a second half shooting slump, but for the most part this was the most dominant and most complete performance we've seen from this team. My favorite stat was that the Sooners only turned the ball over 7 times while stealing the ball 9 times and forcing 17 Arizona turnovers. OU scored 21 points off turnovers, 10 points on fast breaks and had a 34-20 point advantage in the paint.

For lack of better words OU is starting to get their legs underneath them and have proven in the last two games that the team that absolutely fell on its face in Alaska isn't a true representation of who the Sooners are. Guys are starting to learn or adjust to their roles on the squad and hopefully we're seeing the chemistry of three McDonalds All-Americans begin to develop.

Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally - Weekend Edition

Evan Pfaff — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:15:09 -0000

Big 12 Pac-10 Hardwood Series (Photo courtesy big12sports.com)

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This count will be updated at the completion of each game of the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series this weekend. Feel free to comment on any game.

Official Tally

Big 12 - 8

Pac 10 - 2

UPDATE: Big XII Wins Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series!

Game dates, times and recaps listed below the Jump

(All times Central)

Sunday, November 29

Nebraska - 51
USC - 48
Recap

Thursday's Games

Texas Tech - 99
(12) Washington - 92
OVERTIME
Recap

(2) Texas - 69
USC - 50
Recap

Baylor - 64
Arizona State - 61
Recap

Friday's Games

Oregon State - 74
Colorado - 69
Recap

Saturday's Games

Missouri - 106
Oregon - 69
Recap

Kansas St.- 86
Washington State - 69
Recap

California - 82
Iowa St. - 63
Recap

Sunday's Games

Kansas - 73
UCLA - 61
Recap

Oklahoma 79
Arizona 62
Recap

Wednesday, December 16 Games

Oklahoma St at Stanford - 10pm

Tuesday, December 22 Games

Texas A&M at Washington - 10pm

Poll

Which is true?

Sooners Have A Tough Game On Sunday

dishingoutdimes — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:50:11 -0000

Fresh off a 67-47 domination of Arkansas (2-5), the Sooners play host to Arizona (3-3) on Sunday in the Pac 10 - Big 12 Hardwood Challenge. Above is a chart of the Statistical Plus-Minus breakdown for the OU-Arkansas game. Again, here is a basic definition of SPM:

The one measure that I found that I really like is statistical plus-minus. What is it? Basically it is the number of points that a player would add to a team if that player replaced an "average player", over 100 possessions. It is based on tempo neutral statistics (averaged for "per 40 minute production"). It accounts for things like turnovers hurting a team, and things like assists and steals helping a team.

I excluded Andrew Fitzgerald and T.J. Franklin from the analysis as neither played more than 3 minutes. Admittedly SPM works best when applied over a longer stretch of games, but it does offer some revealing trends. Ryan Wright had probably his best game of the season, which is funny because you probably wouldn't have noticed him on the court all that much. He only played for 12 minutes, but had a productive 12 minutes with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist. As expected, Tony Crocker was basically the MVP of the game. He had more minutes than Wright (Ryan's production probably would have fallen with more minutes). It was one of Tony's best games as a Sooner. It seemed like every time down the court he would get a rebound. He finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.

Willie and Tommy Mason-Griffin both had solid games. "TMG", as he is sometimes called, needs to round out the stat line just a bit more. His assist totals continue to stay down, but he also decreased the number of turnovers he had. Cade Davis' SPM figure is slightly negative, which is enormously misleading. He's probably the other candidate for MVP in the Arkansas game. He hassled the nation's top scorer, Rotnei Clarke, all game long and held him well below his season average with 11 points. Without Cade's consistent effort on the defensive end, this game would have been much closer. For reference, Cade held Rotnei to a -3.46 SPM figure, an unbelievable accomplishment for the junior guard from Elk City, Oklahoma. The most impressive thing was the number of isolation plays they ran for Rotnei Clarke, and how all but 1 or 2 (if memory serves me right) failed because of Cade's defense. I thought the shift to man defense was a big plus for the team as a whole.

Bottom line: Cade Davis deserves a lot of credit for the performance he had against Arkansas, and defending Rotnei Clarke. It's no easy job to defend the nation's leading scorer for 38 minutes, especially when you're used to coming off the bench. Cade has had to work hard ever since he got here, and clearly the effort is paying off.

More on the 'Zona game after the jump!

Arizona will come into the game at 3-3, after dropping two consecutive games to Vanderbilt (#23 KenPom ratings), and UNLV (#40 KP). In fact, their last time out it was a heartbreaker, at home, in double overtime (74-72 loss). Arizona plays a lot of man defense as well. Their low defensive turnover% (15th lowest in NCAA) suggests they play teams straight up and don't gamble on the passing lanes (the low defensive steal% also suggests this). Thus, I would expect a half-court game where both teams will try to set up plays. This would decrease the number of possessions in the game, probably pretty close to being in line with OU's average of 65 per game.

While Arizona does have a pretty good record, they have yet to beat anyone ranked higher than #100 in the KenPom ratings, and statistically their best win was against Colorado. They also have not played a game at a true away site.

What does Arizona do well? Their defense is only allowing 0.905 points per possession (PPP), which is good for 55th in the NCAA. They hold teams to a low effective FG% (44.1%, 65th NCAA) and have a low defensive A/FGM ratio (38th NCAA) which suggests that they play defense to set up a lot of one-on-one matchups and try to make you beat them with individual effort on that end of the floor.

I think a key to the game for the Sooners will be to run the floor on misses by Arizona, and not allow them to simply sit back and dig in their heels. We have the athletes to run the floor, and doing so would put the Wildcats out of their comfort zone.

Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally - Friday Edition

Evan Pfaff — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:15:08 -0000

Big 12 Pac 10 Hardwood Series (Photo courtesy big12sports.com)

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This count will be updated at the completion of each game of the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series this weekend. Feel free to comment on any game.

Official Tally

Big 12 - 8

Pac 10 - 2

Game dates, times and recaps listed below the Jump

(All times Central)

Sunday, November 29

Nebraska - 51
USC - 48
Recap

Thursday's Games

Texas Tech - 99
(12) Washington - 92
OVERTIME
Recap

(2) Texas - 69
USC - 50
Recap

Baylor - 64
Arizona State - 61
Recap

Friday's Games

Oregon State - 74
Colorado - 69
Recap

Saturday's Games

Missouri - 106
Oregon - 69
Recap

Kansas St.- 86
Washington State - 69
Recap

California - 82
Iowa St. - 63
Recap

Sunday's Games

Kansas - 73
UCLA - 61
Recap

Oklahoma 79
Arizona 62
Recap

Wednesday, December 16 Games

Oklahoma St at Stanford - 10pm

Tuesday, December 22 Games

Texas A&M at Washington - 10pm

Poll

When will the Pac 10 win their first game of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series?

Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally - Thursday Edition

Evan Pfaff — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:30:48 -0000

Big 12 Pac 10 Hardwood Series (Photo courtesy big12sports.com)

View full size photo »

This count will be updated at the completion of each game of the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series this weekend. Feel free to comment on any game.

Official Tally

Big 12 - 8

Pac 10 - 2

Game dates, times and recaps listed below the Jump

(All times Central)

Sunday, November 29

Nebraska - 51
USC - 48
Recap

Thursday's Games

Texas Tech - 99
(12) Washington - 92
OVERTIME
Recap

(2) Texas - 69
USC - 50
Recap

Baylor - 64
Arizona State - 61
Recap

Friday's Games

Oregon State - 74
Colorado - 69
Recap

Saturday's Games

Missouri - 106
Oregon - 69
Recap

Kansas St.- 86
Washington State - 69
Recap

California - 82
Iowa St. - 63
Recap

Sunday's Games

Kansas - 73
UCLA - 61
Recap

Oklahoma 79
Arizona 62
Recap

Wednesday, December 16 Games

Oklahoma St at Stanford - 10pm

Tuesday, December 22 Games

Texas A&M at Washington - 10pm

Poll

Who will win more games in the series?

RPI WATCH: 12/03/09

BracketCat — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:00:37 -0000

by Charlie Riedel - AP

Kansas State's RPI and strength of schedule are rising like Jam Sam going up for a dunk — despite the Wildcats' poor play of late. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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The majority of our opponents, both past and future, were in action last night — including our three opponents from Puerto Rico, three of our four immediately upcoming opponents and seven of the Big 12 teams.

And what a crazy night it was. There were overtime games, upsets, the Big Ten winning the Challenge against the ACC (one of the signs of the impending apocalypse), you name it.

To see how everyone fared, click the jump.

If for some reason you absolutely need to know up-to-date numbers, I get them here.

Current Kansas State RPI = 15

Current Kansas State SOS = 20

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = none

Loyola (4-1) | RPI = 27
Western Illinois (3-3) | RPI = 207
Boston (2-6) | RPI = 162: Loss at Connecticut (92-64)
Ole Miss (6-1) | RPI = 39: Win at Arkansas State (79-57)
Dayton (4-2) | RPI = 46: Win at Miami University (65-58)
IUPUI (5-2) | RPI = 84
FHSU (4-1)
Washington State (6-1) | RPI = 112: Loss at No. 17 Gonzaga (74-69)
Xavier (4-2) | RPI = 114
No. 24 UNLV (6-0) | RPI = 5: Win at Arizona (74-72 in double overtime)
Alabama (5-2) | RPI = 52: Win over North Florida (73-51)
UAPB (0-5) | RPI = 229
Cleveland State (3-4) | RPI = 191
South Dakota (5-3) | RPI = 143: Win over Dakota State (111-59)
Missouri (4-2) | RPI = 107: Loss at Vanderbilt (89-83)
No. 19 Texas A&M (6-1) | RPI = 8: Win over PVAMU (84-59)
Colorado (5-2) | RPI = 181
No. 3 Texas (5-0) | RPI = 3
Oklahoma State (6-1) | RPI = 18: Loss at Tulsa (86-65)
Baylor (6-1) | RPI = 160
No. 1 Kansas (6-0) | RPI = 38: Win over Alcorn State (98-31)
Nebraska (5-1) | RPI = 81: Win over UTPA (81-53)
Iowa State (6-2) | RPI = 148: Loss to Northern Iowa (63-60)
Oklahoma (4-3) | RPI = 206: Win over Arkansas (67-47)
Texas Tech (7-0) | RPI = 48