SB Nation - Missouri Tigers

Big 12 Basketball Games This Weekend and Open Thread

Evan Pfaff — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:00:18 -0000

Listed below The Jump are all Big 12 games happening this weekend. Who do you like? Who is going to get upset? Who is going to upset a foe?

Feel free to discuss any in the comments section.

Saturday, December 19

Michigan at Kansas - 11:00 a.m.
Texas vs. North Carolina - 1:00 p.m.
Arkansas Pine-Bluff at Missouri - 7:00 p.m.
Jackson St. at Nebraska - 7:00 p.m.
Texas Tech at Wichita St. - 7:00 p.m.
Citadel at Texas A&M - 8:00 p.m.
Kansas State vs. Alabama - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 20

Bradley at Iowa State - 1:00 p.m.
UT Arlington at Baylor - 2:00 p.m.

Friday Afternoon Big12Hoops.com Link Dump - 12.18.2009

Evan Pfaff — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:00:17 -0000

The goal of the Friday Afternoon Big12Hoops.com Link Dump is to help you ease into the weekend by giving you things to occupy your time at work until the clock strikes 5pm.

All the links available after the Jump

Big 12 North

Colorado Boulder Daily Camera - CU men's basketball team looks for consistency

Kansas Lawrence Journal World - Aldrich sets lofty goal: Junior wants to be Academic All-American

Kansas St Manhattan Mercury - Attention-grabbers No. 17 Wildcats now go from hunter to hunted

Iowa St GoCyclones.com - McDermott thinks ISU is "right there"

Missouri Columbia Daily Tribune - Tiller facing one-game suspension

Nebraska Lincoln Journal Star - Anderson gets double-double in Husker win

Big 12 South

Baylor Waco Tribune-Herald- John Werner: Baylor's Drew favors expanding March Madness

Oklahoma Norman Transcript - First-half woes irk Sooner women (Women)

Oklahoma St Stillwater NewsPress - Oklahoma State's Marshall Moses finding his own path

Texas Austin American-Statesman - For Horns' Jai Lucas, the wait is over

Texas A&M AggieSports.com - NBA experience made Sloan, Davis better

Texas Tech RedRaiders.com - Tech has learned from pressure situations

Non Big 12 Links

HogsHeaven.com The Revolution - On the 1st Day of Christmas, My Owner Gave To Me: A Future Without Vinny [NFL]

SI.com Bengals owner Brown on Henry: 'He was starting to blossom' [NFL]

CBSSports.com Rams cancel practice, term it swine flu 'precaution' [NFL]

CBSSports.com Bowl Rankings: Rating all 34, from Pasadena to pizza [College Football]

Yahoo! Sports Knight: college hoops lacks integrity [College Basketball]

ESPN.com Pitt coach Jamie Dixon sas move to the Big Ten would be a mistake [College Basketball]

Beyond The Boxscore Worth the Money? [MLB]

ESPN.com Seattle Mariners' Cliff Lee expresses disbelief, shock over trade [MLB]

Fantasy Football Projections - CBSSports.com | ESPN.com [Fantasy Football]

Live Tweeting from Saturday's Mizzou game

Evan Pfaff — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:19:42 -0000

I will be Tweeting LIVE from the Mizzou Arena during the Mizzou-Arkansas Pine Bluff game on Saturday. Follow me, or DM me if you are there.

@MizzouHoops

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Bill C. — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:00:18 -0000

I say this in all seriousness: this is a pretty good 0-8 team.

The story I always think of when UAPB pops up on the schedule took place during Mizzou's first ever meeting with the Golden Lions (seriously), a ridiculous 89-33 mercy killing in which Mizzou had to try rather hard not to win by 75 (seriously, Matt Rowan played more in that game than in the rest of his Mizzou career combined). At one point in the second half, John Woods was inbounding the ball along the press row sideline, turned to the folks on press row, and said in exasperation, "These guys are terrible!"

For most of UAPB's decade-plus at the D1 level, they have been just that -- terrible. God-awful. Wretched. Their best record: 13-16 in 2005-06. Their worst: 1-26 in 2003-04. Amazingly, their 5-21 record in 1999-00 is only their sixth-worst record since 1997-98. It's also their sixth-best. Point is, they've been ridiculously bad. But that is slowly starting to change. Their conference standing has improved for most of the last five years, from 10th in 2004-05, to 7th in 2005-06, to 5th in 2006-07, to 4th in 2008-09. They will snag an NCAA bid one of these years. Yes, they're in a bad conference (SWAC); yes, they're 0-8; and yes, they continue to play a schedule that is 17x too hard. But even in going 0-8 this year, they have shown major improvement. They have yet to lose a game by more than 20, and they have gotten more and more competitive -- they lost by only 12 to Georgia Tech earlier this week. They're going to lose tomorrow at Mizzou Arena, and that's fine, but this is a solid, fundamentally sound team that is putting up an infinitely better fight than they were 5-10 years ago.

UAPB: 0-8

	UAPB	Opp
Points Per Minute	1.49	1.84
Points Per Possession (PPP)	0.91	1.13
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.11	1.47
2-PT FG%	41.4%	54.1%
3-PT FG%	34.3%	38.3%
FT%	68.0%	70.0%
True Shooting %	48.3%	59.9%

	UAPB	Opp
Assists/Gm	10.1	14.5
Steals/Gm	5.1	6.5
Turnovers/Gm	16.0	11.0
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	0.95	1.91

	UAPB	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	100	83
Offensive Rebounds	93	53
Difference	-7	-30

UAPB's season thus far:

@Colorado 88, UAPB 72
@Denver 75, UAPB 56
@UTEP 70, UAPB 52
@Akron 68, UAPB 65
@Arizona State 74, UAPB 57
@Michigan 67, UAPB 53
@Oklahoma State 81, UAPB 66
@Georgia Tech 65, UAPB 53

UAPB's first home game of the season: January 16, versus Southern. Ouch.

What Does Ken Pomeroy Have to Say?

UAPB Offense vs MU Defense Ranks
	UAPB Offense	MU Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	264	11	Huge MU
Effective FG%	296	11	Huge MU
Turnover %	305	2	Huge MU
Off. Reb. %	217	256	UAPB
FTA/FGA	220	175	MU
MU Offense vs UAPB Defense Ranks
	MU Offense	UAPB Defense	Advantage
Efficiency	58	165	Huge MU
Effective FG%	41	319	Huge MU
Turnover %	88	332	Huge MU
Off. Reb. %	120	2	*Huge UAPB*
FTA/FGA	321	326	Push

Where the Golden Lions are solid

These mofos block out. Wow. They give up good shots, and they don't force turnovers, but if you miss a shot, your possession is over. No second chances. I say this often, but this is another unique challenge for Mizzou. They will win this game, but UAPB has shown against teams like Oklahoma State, Michigan and Georgia Tech that they are more than capable of hanging around, and it's because you only get one-shot possessions. A cold streak will allow them to stay in the game.

Where the Golden Lions are less than solid

Everywhere else.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball

Player	*AdjGS/Gm**	GmSc/Min	Line
Savalace Townsend (6'2, 160, So.)	13.8	0.42	33.1 MPG, 12.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 2.3 TOPG
Lebaraon Weathers (6'8, 245, Sr.)	8.7	0.40	22.1 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.0 TOPG
Tavaris Washington (6'5, 215, Sr.)	8.5	0.34	25.0 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 2.6 TOPG
Terrance Calvin (6'2, 170, Sr.)	7.5	0.23	32.6 MPG, 7.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 TOPG
Tyrees Glass (6'7, 220, Sr.)	6.1	0.26	23.5 MPG, 8.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 2.5 TOPG
George Davis (6'5, 210, Sr.)	5.3	0.33	16.0 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Terry Tidwell (6'8, 230, Fr.)	2.7	0.43	6.4 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Dominic Moore (6'10, 195, Jr.)	2.5	0.22	11.4 MPG, 3.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Allen Smith (5'10, 170, Jr.)	1.2	0.09	14.3 MPG, 1.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 1.1 APG
Terrell Kennedy (6'6, 250, So.)	0.8	0.24	7 minutes
Vincent Martin (6'2, 175, Fr.)	0.4	0.05	8.0 MPG, 2.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Stephan Collins (6'5, 185, Fr.)	0.1	0.01	8.3 MPG, 1.3 PPG
Antonio Ootesey (6'1, 180, Jr.)	-0.7	-0.30	5 minutes
Hugh Barnett (6'9, 265, Sr.)	-0.7	-0.37	6 minutes
Antoni Lasker (5'10, 170, So.)	-1.3	-0.43	6 minutes

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It redistributes a team's points based not only on points scored, but also by giving credit for assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls. It is a stat intended to determine who had the biggest overall impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Needless to say, you like Mizzou's chances to win big when the other team's top five players all average at least two turnovers per game.
You can sort of see why this UAPB team is better than previous ones -- they have a pretty good playmaker in Savalace Townsend (42% from 3-point land ... and 37% from 2-point range, strangely enough), who blew up against Georgia Tech with six 3's. He's hit-or-miss sometimes, but almost every other player in the rotation is a junior or senior, and I think that will be beneficial in conference play.
Perhaps the most interesting UAPB player in terms of Mizzou's strengths and weaknesses could be George Davis, who has actually grabbed more offensive rebounds than defensive ones to date.

Keys to the Game

Show Up. I know I've been building UAPB up a bit here, but this still a game Mizzou will likely win easily. Whether they win by 12 or 40 depends on how much fire they show and how much rust they don't.
The rims. If the rims are friendly and Mizzou's shots are falling in early, this game really could get out of hand. But with Mizzou's rebounding weaknesses, a first-half cold stretch could lead to an uncomfortable crowd for the game's first 20-25 minutes.
Justin Safford. In The Challenge, I mentioned that Justin Safford is a guard trapped in a post player's body, and that he absolutely must improve on the boards. UAPB presents a nice opportunity for him to discover some aggression in that regard. Mizzou is actually average to above average in terms of offensive rebounding, but that's because of Laurence Bowers and Keith Ramsey. It's time for Safford to start becoming the rebounding force we need him to become.

Prediction

UAPB plays a pretty slow game (65.2 possessions per game), and Mizzou hasn't been as good about picking up the pace this season. After a week off, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Mizzou struggling early with their shot and UAPB keeping things relatively close in a boring first 15 minutes. Of course, even in that scenario I still see Mizzou pulling away early in the second half and winning this one easily. Mizzou 77, UAPB 56. But if the shots are falling and Kimmeh or Marcus Denmon get hot, then we're looking more at Mizzou 85, UAPB 49. I'm going with the former, but I'm posting the latter, you know, just so I get two chances to be right.

RPI WATCH: 12/17/09

BracketCat — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:15:17 -0000

by Laura Rauch - AP

Thanks to the Worldwide Leader, Frank and his Wildcats are sucking up all the national attention. Take that, Lew Perkins! (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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As an astute reader pointed out last night, Kansas State indeed moved up to No. 1 in the RPI.

So I guess I was wrong about No. 2 being the pinnacle — we managed to pass Duke after all.

I still say enjoy it while it lasts. After Alabama, we play a trio of teams that will put at least a small dent into that ranking. But once we get into the meat of Big 12 play, I could see it settling into the Top 10 or Top 15 and staying there for the duration.

Frank couldn't have planned this non-conference schedule any better if had tried. Not only are Dayton, Xavier and UNLV living up to expectations, but Loyola — who just netted a really nice road win — and Washington State appear to be better than expected, and IUPUI quickly is looking like a front-runner in its conference. Brave, Mr. Martin.

Wednesday night's results are after the jump. A couple of close ones, but our opponents pulled them out in the end and vaulted us to the top overall spot.

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 2

Great Wins (RPI 1-50, bold = RPI 1-25) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45: Win at Bradley (68-65)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (9-1) | RPI = 35: Win over UTEP (91-81 in overtime)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 27
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60
No. 22* FHSU (7-1)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88
Xavier (6-3) | RPI = 61
UNLV (8-1) | RPI = 24
Alabama (7-3) | RPI = 87: Win over Samford (60-45)
UAPB (0-8) | RPI = 281: Loss at No. 22 Georgia Tech (65-53)
Cleveland State (4-7, 0-2) | RPI = 235
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (9-0) | RPI = 5
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42: Win at Stanford (71-70)
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

Big 12 Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally - Game 11

Evan Pfaff — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:36:50 -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 - 9

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 - 71
Stanford - 70
Recap

Tuesday, December 22 Games

Texas A&M at Washington - 10pm

RPI WATCH: 12/16/09

BracketCat — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:00:33 -0000

If you were wondering, there was no RPI Watch yesterday because none of our opponents played Monday night.

But a few of them did Tuesday night. Hit the jump to see how they did.

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 3

Great Wins (RPI 1-50, bold = RPI 1-25) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 27
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60
No. 22* FHSU (7-1)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88
Xavier (6-3) | RPI = 61
UNLV (8-1) | RPI = 24: Win at Southern Utah (77-59)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91
UAPB (0-7) | RPI = 302
Cleveland State (4-7, 0-2) | RPI = 235: Loss to Robert Morris (78-70)
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (9-0) | RPI = 5: Win over UTPA (104-42)
Oklahoma State (8-1) | RPI = 31
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72: Win over Jackson State (90-60)
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

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)

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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.

RPI WATCH: 12/14/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:23 -0000

by Laura Rauch - AP

Presenting your 17th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats! (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

View full size photo »

No. 17 AP and No. 22 ESPN/USA Today!

As I hinted yesterday, our recently defeated foe, the Xavier Musketeers, picked up a great win over ranked Cincinnati in a double-overtime thriller that threatened to break out into a brawl at several points.

Meanwhile, our version of Alcorn State, winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff, got whomped in Stillwater. That game will have a wonderful effect on our RPI...

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

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

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60
No. 22* FHSU (7-1)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88
Xavier (6-3) | RPI = 61: Win over No. 19 Cincinnati (83-79 in double overtime)
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91
UAPB (0-7) | RPI = 302: Loss at Oklahoma State (81-66)
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139: Win at Binghamton (89-77)
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5
Oklahoma State (8-1) | RPI = 31: Win over UAPB (81-66)
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Laura Rauch - AP

The circle is complete: By beating the brains out of Lon Kruger's team, perhaps we finally have erased the demons that have plagued K-State basketball for 20 years — roughly ever since he ditched us for Florida. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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Sorry, guys. I accidentally set this to publish at 11:45 p.m. tonight when I meant for it to go last night. My bad.

Wow, what a Saturday.

I guess I'll start with us. I've adding a ranking indicator, because now that Xavier beat Cincinnati today (likely knocking them out of the Top 25), it's a 99-percent certainty that we will be ranked at this time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our RPI is an eye-popping TWO. I don't think we're likely to top Duke anytime soon, so this basically is the pinnacle for our resume this year, at least from a numbers standpoint. Kudos to Frank Martin for drawing up a PERFECT non-conference schedule, one that now is ranked fourth, after briefly spiking at second last night.

UNLV was added to the ledger of Top 50 wins, and Wazzu's win over Air Force, coupled with playing us, moved the Cougars into the Top 100. That gives us six quality wins so far, and to that you can add Fort Hays State's movement into the Division II Top 25 last week. We've beaten some damn good teams.

What does all this mean? Barring an absolute collapse in Big 12 play, we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And if things keep up like this, we'll have a pretty high seed, too. We almost don't need this feature anymore — the resume speaks for itself. But I'll keep tracking everything, nonetheless.

Here's a little trivia for you: Four teams in the country have three RPI Top 50 wins. Who are they? Answers after the jump. Oh, and be sure to vote in my poll.

Answer: Georgetown, Kansas State, Texas, Villanova

Bonus Answer: Kansas has ZERO Top 50 wins. LOL!

Current Kansas State Ranking = TBD

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

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

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40: Win over San Francisco (66-63)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320: Loss to Eastern Illinois (44-41)
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146: Win at Marist (88-72)
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34: Win over McNeese State (83-67)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Indiana-South Bend (92-56)
No. 22* FHSU (7-1): Win over Missouri Western (67-54)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88: Win over Air Force (75-68)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29: Loss to Kansas State (95-80)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91: Loss to No. 5 Purdue (73-65)
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232: Win over Wilberforce (113-61)
South Dakota (5-4) | RPI = 119
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161: Win over Fairleigh Dickinson (87-36)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18: Loss to New Mexico (84-81)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5: Win over Texas State (87-54)
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21: Win over La Salle (90-65)
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Oregon State (50-44)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142: Win at Utah (78-73 in overtime)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

SB Nation - Missouri Tigers

Big 12 Basketball Games This Weekend and Open Thread

Saturday, December 19

Sunday, December 20

Friday Afternoon Big12Hoops.com Link Dump - 12.18.2009

Big 12 North

Big 12 South

Non Big 12 Links

Live Tweeting from Saturday's Mizzou game

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Arkansas-Pine Bluff

UAPB: 0-8

What Does Ken Pomeroy Have to Say?

Player Stats

Keys to the Game

Prediction

RPI WATCH: 12/17/09

Big 12 Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally - Game 11

Official Tally

Big 12 - 9

Pac 10 - 2

Sunday, November 29

Thursday's Games

Friday's Games

Saturday's Games

Sunday's Games

Wednesday, December 16 Games

Tuesday, December 22 Games

RPI WATCH: 12/16/09

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

RPI WATCH: 12/14/09

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

What will K-State be ranked in today's AP poll?