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How Did Colorado Fare Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers in 2010?

irish1611 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:50:18 -0000

More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

2 months ago: Colorado guard Alec Burks reacts near the end of Colorado's 78-71 victory over Baylor in an NCAA college basketball game in Boulder, Colo., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Oh how I long for the Buffs to play in the NCAA tournament again. Ever since I was a little kid, the Sunday before the the tournament started was like a national holiday, hanging on every team CBS announced. It is truly the best week in sports in my mind. This next Thursday through Sunday is something special, checking your brackets during work, hanging on gamecast score updates...you know the drill and it's fantastic. One thing has been missing for the most part: the Colorado Buffaloes. CU's last appearance in the big dance was 2002 - 2003 and no one will forget when Chauncey Billups played for Colorado in 1996 - 1997. Since 1969, those are the only two years Colorado made it to the tournament.

The program made some strides this year behind guards Alec Burks, Cory Higgins and Marcus Relphorde. There is reason for optimism but unless Jeff Bzdelik finds a few good big men who can rebound and this team figures out how to win on the road, more .500 seasons are likely. One thing is for sure: the window of opportunity is closing. Cory Higgins will be a senior next year. Alec Burks, if he keeps his progression going and adds some pounds, the NBA will be calling next year.

But enough about next year. Colorado was 2 - 10 against teams who qualified for the NCAA tournament this year. They could have easily been 5 - 7 with wins against Kansas, Texas A&M and Gonzaga. Their best win of the year was against the Baylor Bears, who enter as a #3 seed in this year's tournament and a team that many believe will go far. We will see. Before this win against Baylor, Colorado hadn't beaten a ranked team in three years. Seven Big 12 teams made the NCAA tournament, CU finished 8th in the conference during the regular season.

Below is how the Buffs fared against the other teams in the tournament:

Opponent	Result	Game Notes
Arkansas-Pine Bluff	W 88-72	APB started 0 - 11, ended up 17 - 15 winnin the SWAC, 16 Seed Play In Game. This was the first game of the year for both teams.
vs. Gonzaga*	L 76-72	#8 seed. Buffs led this game 56 - 45 before Gonzaga won late in Maui. Zags lost their conference tournament, but have made the tournament 12 straight times. Could be a dangerous team depending on which team shows up.
at No. 2 Texas	L 103-86	Texas handily beat the Buffs in Austin to go 15 - 0 but after that, went 9 - 9. Texas is an #8 seed and comes into the tournament with some confidence issues.
No. 24 Baylor	W 78-71	Baylor seems like everyone's darling this year and gained a #3 seed. I keep telling myself, this Bears team lost to the Buffs. A Buffs team that hadn't beaten a ranked team in three years. Buyer beware.
No. 12 Kansas State	L 87-81	Colorado played the Wildcats very tough in Boulder, jumping within four points with just over a minute to play. The refs ruined this game as they called a whopping 67 fouls. The #2 seed Wildcats are going to be a tough out in the tournament
at Oklahoma State	L 90-78	The #7 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys proved too much for the Buffs in their only meeting of the year in Stillwater. If Big 12 player of the year James Anderson gets hot, this is a team that can play the spolier...just ask #1 ranked Kansas, who was beaten by this Cowboy team two weeks ago
at Texas A&M	L 67-63	Coulda. Shoulda. Woulda. The Buffs were tied with A&M in College Station 59 - 59 with 32 seconds left but ended up losing to the #5 seed. The Buffs were outrebounded by 13 and the road issues continued.
No. 1 Kansas	L 72-66	Colorado took this #1 ranked Kansas team to overtime without top freshman Alec Burks. Yes without 17 points a game in Burks. CU had the last shot in regulation to win but a poorly executed play allowed Kansas to escape in OT.
Missouri	L 84-66	Is there any team who has had the Buffs number more than Missouri the past few years? The answer is no. The #10 seed lost to a bad Nebraska team in the 2nd round of the Big 12 tourney.
at No. 9 Kansas State	L 68-51	Kansas State flexed their muscle in Manhattan, KS after the Buffs stuck with the Wildcats through the first half. Could be a great final four matchup with Kansas
at No. 1 Kansas	L 94-74	#1 team beat up the Buffs in Lawrence. Many people in their brackets will have the Jayhawks cutting down the nets in April.
at Missouri	L 92-63	See the first matchup with the Tigers

The Seeding Debate: Where Do The Golden Bears Deserve to End Up?

Avinash — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:59:25 -0000

More photos » Mark J. Terrill - AP

Jamal Boykin and the Golden Bears will be pondering all Sunday where they'll end up in the Dance.

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Cal is in. A lot of people will gripe and moan about it, but they are in. Winning the Pac-10 put them in. Winning the first two games of the tournament made it even clearer they deserved to be in. Winning seven of their final eight in the conference play to clinch their first undisputed Pac-10 title in 50 years put them so far in. Yet for some reason we seem to have to keep on justifying ourselves to the rest of the country. Crazy.

The fact that we're even discussing this is due to the spewing hatefest coming from the rest of the country, which is quick to disparage the Pac-10 for not being a land of Kevin Loves and Brandon Roys this season (Hey, rest of country, word of advice: Other than the top three, you're not that great either.). This group includes Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI and CBSSports.com who no longer has us as a lock (WTF?), Rivals taking us out of the lock category, the CBS jokefest at the Pac-10 tournament final halftime show which had the Cal/UDub loser as the first one out (UDub, maybe; Cal???), some of the morons on the ESPN shows including Dukie shill Jay Williams (who believed MIGHTY RHODE ISLAND has a better resume than Cal), etc. etc. I normally try to be objective about this nonsense, but the idea that Cal has somehow moved back to bubble territory after losing by 4 points in a highly contested Pac-10 title game is becoming a joke. Thankfully, reasonable people are on the NCAA Selection Committee, and the Bears will be traveling somewhere this Thursday or Friday.*

*For your health and sanity, root for Kentucky and Ohio State to win today. Then you can certainly breathe easy.

So let's focus on tournament seeding, and the arguments for giving Cal a poor seeding and the counterarguments for giving Cal a fair one.

Argument for seeding Cal low: Cal is 1-6 against top competition.

Counterargument: Let's revise this. Cal is 0-4 against four of the TOP TEN team in the countries (#1 Kansas, #3 Syracuse, #5 Ohio State, #8 New Mexico), and three of those losses were without Theo Robertson, who was basically a fourth of their offense. I see people giving Ohio State credit all the time for losing games against Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin without Evan Turner. Do we not get the same benefit of the doubt for being competitive in what amounted to huge road games against teams being considered for #1, #2 and #3 seeds in the tourney?

From this, the Bears have also played the hardest OOC schedule of any major conference team. They've played six conference winners (Kansas, Syracuse, Ohio State, New Mexico, Murray St., UCSB) and gone 2-4 (include Ivy League's 2nd place Princeton and it's 3-4). The Bears deserve to be rewarded for these quality wins. They've beaten several teams in the tournament, even if they're not the greatest in the world.

Argument for seeding Cal low: The Pac-10 sucks. It's no better than a midmajor and only deserves one bid.

Counterargument: The conference might be down, but it's not horribly down to the point that other conferences have bypassed it. The Pac-10 might be the worst of the sixth major conferences, but it's still way ahead of any of the midmajors according to Pomeroy.

The next nearest conference, the Mountain West, is in all likelihood sending four teams (New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, SDSU). The next nearest, the Atlantic Ten, is sending three (Richmond, Xavier, Temple). Are those conferences that much more deserving or superior in their resumes that they deserve two or three more teams than the Pac-10? Sure, the Lobos, Cougars and Rebels earned bonus points from facing off against each other, but Cal did have two pretty good squads in Washington and Arizona State they faced off with.

Speaking of which...

Argument for seeding Cal low: Even if the Bears had no luck against good teams, they have not faced real competition in over two months.

Counterargument: This isn't something California can realistically control. The Bears have only had one bad loss this season (UCLA at home), and one "somewhat bad loss that can be explained because we don't matchup well against that team at all" (Oregon State). Other than that, Cal has either taken care of business or lost a few close ones to good teams at the wire--Washington, Arizona and USC were all games the Bears could've won in the final seconds. And despite the fact they've played bad teams, they haven't struggled against many of them, they've won 11 of their 15 conference victories by double digits.

The SEC has generally not had good teams the past few years and is the fifth best conference--they're still sending three teams at the least (Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, maybe Mississippi State). We're not that far behind the SEC in terms of quality. It's hard to see us being two teams worse.

Finally, keep this in mind--a big conference has always sent at least one at-large team in the history of the tournament. There would be no precedent for this kind of omission. None.

Bracket forecasts:

Every participant in the Bracket Project has Cal in, and their predictions aggregate to the (gulp) dreaded 8th seed.

Brackets of notice (i.e. brackets to really consider, ponder, or point and laugh at):

ESPN's Joe Lunardi (who is generally right on who gets in but not terribly accurate as who gets in where) has Cal as a 7 seed in Buffalo facing Georgia Tech (hey it's just like last year!), with West Virginia the likely 2nd round opponent. Not a terrible bracket, probably one of the nicest ones for Cal. Even if it's in Buffalo.

SBN's Blogging the Bracket's Saturday outlook had Cal as an 8th seed in Jacksonville facing Utah State, with Duke looming in the second round. Again, I don't hate this.

Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI and CBSSports also has Cal in Jacksonville with Duke looming in the second round. Only we're a 10th seed facing Oklahoma State and Duke is a 2nd seed. Yeesh.

Our biggest supporters are RealTimeRPI, which I believe are the only bracketologists to give California a 6th seed (in this case in New Orleans against UTEP). That's to be followed by Georgetown-Ohio winner. Even though this is the most respect we've gotten so far, this is probably the worst of the first week brackets I've seen. I'm not really interested in taking on the Hoyas right now, and UTEP is a dangerous team...

Rivals has Cal as a 10 seed facing Marquette. I have no feelings about this.

Oh, but I do have strong feelings about this one. Andy Glockner must really hate us, because he has Cal as a 12 seed in a rematch with Maryland in Spokane (at least it's better than Oklahoma City). Then if we somehow scrape ourselves past Vazquez, a faceoff with the Purdue-Murray State winner. Yuck. I don't care how badly Purdue played Saturday, I want no part of them that early.

Our biggest detractor is something called The Bracket Board, who hands us a 12 seed. TBB has us in Spokane against 5th seed Tennessee, with the winner to take on Michigan State-Murray State. Maybe getting hated on isn't the worst thing after all--these are pretty good first week draws.

.There are plenty of places Cal can end up this upcoming week. The only question left is "will we like what we get?"

Is Virginia Our Nemesis Or Arch-Enemy?

Sean Keeley — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:02:36 -0000

via media.syracuse.com

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As we all know, college lacrosse is really all about four schools (at least for now). Syracuse, Princeton, Virginia and Johns Hopkins. No one else wins national titles and no one else permeates the lacrosse culture like they do (except Duke for the wrong reasons).

When discussing the the other three teams amongst this group, it can be hard to pin down exactly which one we should hate the most. I think we can consider all three of them natural enemies and nemeses. But which one is truly our arch-enemy? Who is the one that stands above the other two. Virginia, our opponent this weekend, seems to be in a statistical dead-heat with us over the past 15 years. But does that make them the Lex Luthor to our Superman?

Tell me, Wikipedia, how will I know my archenemy when I see him?

The reason why the particular antagonist stands out more than the rest of the protagonist's rogues gallery varies; they may be the greatest threat to the hero, have strong connections with the hero's past, caused the hero a great deal of personal pain, has the most personal grudge against the hero, may be the most recurring enemy, the villain and the hero may be the respective leaders of two opposing factions or it may even be all these things. In certain cases, it is possible for a hero to possess more than one archenemy, as in the case of Spider-Man with Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom where all three villains have established themselves, at various times, as the most recurring and the most iconic of Spider-Man's rogues gallery.

Well, I guess we better break it down:

They may be the greatest threat to the hero

It seems like year in and year out, Syracuse and Virginia are battling for the No. 1 ranking more than anyone else. We've even played each other as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams multiple times over the last fifteen years. SU and Virginia have won 8 of the last 11 National Titles. (Point: Virginia)

They have strong connections with the hero's past

Go back to when SU lacrosse really took off and the first team that really jumps out at you is Johns Hopkins. Syracuse beat then in '83 to win their first modern-era title. The Jays returned the favor the next two years, beating SU both times to win their own titles. The two would tangle one more time in '89, a win by Syracuse. The storied SU-Princeton Finals rivalry didn't get started until '92. By then the Orange and Blue Jays had five National Title showdowns under their belt. (Point: Johns Hopkins)

They have caused the hero a great deal of personal pain.

Syracuse has lost to Hopkins twice in the NCAA Finals, including a 11-4 thrashing in '85. The Tigers have also beaten the Orange twice in the finals, both times overtime heart-crushing losses ('92, '01). Virginia took down the Orange once, in a '99 classic. The Orange have more than avenged Hopkins, beating them on three separate occasions. This one's a toss-up to be honest. Lots of pain doled out on all sides. (Point: Princeton, Virginia)

They have the most personal grudge against the hero

Interesting question. Is it Johns Hopkins, who was NCAA Lacrosse's golden boy (4 NCAA titles between '74 and '80) until the Orange took that mantle from them? Is it Princeton, named Team of the Decade in the 90's for their five titles but who hasn't won one since '01 while the Orange continue to dominate in the '00's? Is it Virginia, who has put together a program with a regular-season record on par with the Orange over the last decade but hasn't been able to translate it into titles or recognition quite as often we have? Me thinks it's all three. (Point: Hopkins, Princeton, Virginia)

They may be the most recurring enemy

This one might be a write-off. We play each time every season at least once and then depending on how the NCAA Tournament shakes out we might see them again. In recent years I think you have to give the nod to Hopkins, though. We've played the Jays in the Tournament four times this decade (3-1 adv). That's slightly more than the Wahoos and Le Tigres. (Point: Hopkins)

The villain and the hero may be the respective leaders of two opposing factions

I'm not going to award a point on this one but it's something that will come into play moving forward. SU didn't even have their own faction until now (Big East), let alone a faction to oppose another one. Princeton is having issues with the Ivy League leadership thanks to Cornell and Virginia always has a tough slate with Duke, NC and Maryland. It remains to be seen if this develops into a conference rivalry, not just a team one.

And so, it's a tie! Like Spider-man, Syracuse has two arch-enemies to deal with on a regular basis. Virginia and Hopkins. Though Princeton is a nemesis lurking in the shadows, plotting their chance to become part of the action. So when No. 1 and No. 2 do battle this weekend in Virginia, two sworn enemies will continue the fight of good vs. evil. I think we know who always wins that battle in the end.

Rutgers Bitten by Gators, Boynton

ibleedscarlet — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:09:48 -0000

Tim Larsen - AP

3 months ago: Rutgers' Austin Johnson (21) tries to shoot between Florida's Kenny Boynton (1) and Erik Murphy, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)

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After 20 full minutes of play in the final game of the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, Rutgers was thinking Championship. Then Kenny Boynton took over.

Boynton, a freshman guard took it to the Scarlet Knights in the 2nd half of Florida's 73-58 victory over Rutgers in the Championship game of the Legends Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Boynton had a game high 19 points, as Florida jumped off to it's best start (6-0) since the 2006-2007 season.

Rutgers was led in scoring by Mike Rosario who had 14 points (he was also named to the All-Tournament Team), but struggled in the 2nd half as the Gators pulled away. Though Rosario led the team in points, it was Hamady Ndiaye who led the team on the floor, as the senior played inspired basketball swatting anything in his range and throwing down monster dunks which allowed Rutgers to hang around in the 2nd half.

This was my first time seeing Rutgers this season in person, and I came away impressed. After beating UMass on Friday night, my expectation was that they would get run out of the gym by a stronger and more athletic UF team. But to my pleasant surprise, Rutgers actually played with, and at times, outplayed the Gators in the first half. Though they trailed by 5 at the half, most of that deficit could be attributed to the hot shooting of the Gators from beyond the 3 point line, and some fortunate bounces that went the Gators way.

As expected, the Gators pulled away in the 2nd half. Florida is a more complete and talented team than Rutgers, and they wore down the Scarlet Knights down low in the final period. When Rutgers tried to defend inside, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker knocked down open jumpers, and when they defended on the perimeter, Florida dumped it down low to Vernon Macklin who provided some rim-shaking highlights.

I was very impressed with Hamady Ndiaye who provided highlights with his high intensity defensive style, and Ndiaye could be seen talking to the younger Knights and giving them the confidence that they need. He truly was the best Scarlet Knight player on the court Saturday night, despite the fact that he only played 17 minutes.

Rosario started off hot, scoring 11 first half points, but was bottled up by the aggressive zone defense that Florida employed in the 2nd half. He was visibly frustrated and forced many shots that weren't there down the stretch. Rosario needs to trust his teammates a bit more and give Patrick Jackson and Johnathon Mitchell more opportunities by drawing double teams. Center Gregory Echenique was largely ineffective recording 0 points in 21 minutes, and providing porous defense. There was a span in the 2nd half where Florida dumped the ball down low 3 or 4 consecutive times and Macklin was able to exploit Echenique for easy Florida points. For some reason he has shown an inability to catch the ball down low, and is becoming a liability down in the post.

Though they weren't able to pull the big upset, I was pleased with what I saw from Rutgers. The team played hard till the end against a superior team, and for a while looked like they had a chance. If they continue to play like they did against Florida, Rutgers should be able to win more than a few games in the Big East.

Rutgers next plays on Thursday night against Princeton at the RAC.

Cal 81, Princeton 60: Bears Tune Up Before New Mexico and Iowa St.

Avinash — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:46:31 -0000

More photos » Jeff Chiu - AP

"What kind of party is it?" "Block party." "Who's invited?" "Oh, Omondi Amoke's on the A-list."

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~Player of the game: Jamal Boykin. He was hitting everything from outside. He grabbed down big rebounds. He hit Max for his slick posterizing of Ivy League Boy. We can't expect this from Boykin all the way, but he's filled in nicely to fill in the scoring gap from Theo.

~Your standard Randle performance. A few alley oops thrown here and there, penetration into the lane, running the fast break, and the ICBM 3 pointers. Ho-hum.

~Max Zhang outscored Patrick Christopher. Something I'm pretty sure I'd never say. It's interesting that Christopher's performance has been a barometer for success, because other than some solid defense he wasn't really a factor in this one.

~Omondi Amoke has been stepping up big hitting the class, with 8 rebounds and a sick looking block. Although, like Thoroughbred points out, he has to start hitting his free throws.

This is for postgame discussion, a chance to look forward to the upcoming games, and an open thread for whatever's going on tonight. How do you think the Bears will do against stiffer competition in New Mexico (and we'll be travelling down there) and home versus Iowa State?

~Really impressed with Cal's defensive effort, lots of steals and fast break opportunities in this one. If they could replicate that against a team that they didn't thoroughly outclass, I'd be even more impressed (first chance: Iowa State this Saturday).

~Nikola still gives me headaches every time he yanks up a horrid looking shot. He's 4 for 15 this year. Easy there boy, pass the damn ball.

~Nice to see Bak Bak get some action. Still miles away from doing anything big, although that block was monstrous.

~Bears experimented with a three guard lineup with Smith, Knezevic and Randle...interesting wrinkle, I'm not sure if it's something we'll see more of in the future.

~I like Smith has the secondary ball handler--he made more smart decisions with the ball, and Cal seemed to play more unselfishly when he was the one running point. Although that might mean Knezevic might shoot more when he gets the ball. It'll be interesting to see how Monty handles this.

~Seeley, STOP SHOOTING 3s. You've made one all season. ATTACK THE BASKET. You're killing me man.

~If Cal can play this way without Theo and MSF...well, I don't know. I still feel they can win both of their games this week, but it'll be tough. Theo coming back would help us out big-time.

Poll

Cal will go __________ against New Mexico and Iowa State

2-0

85 votes

1-1

25 votes

0-2

3 votes

113 votes | Poll has closed

Rematch: Memphis Gives No. 1 Kansas First Big Test of the Season

editor@big12hoops.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:49:33 -0000

Darron Cummings - AP

Kansas' Sherron Collins, left, and Cole Aldrich face their biggest test of the season against Josh Pastner's new-look Memphis team. The match-up will be televised on ESPN and Big12Hoops.com will be liveblogging the game beginning at 8:30pm CST.

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Note: Big12Hoops will be liveblogging the Memphis/Kansas game. You can log-in by visiting our KU section right now or here at Big12Hoops.com beginning at 8:30pm CST.

CJ Golightly
Big12Hoops Contributor
sports@big12hoops.com

Two of the nation's top teams face their first big test of the season in a re-match of the 2008 NCAA Tournament Championship game.

Rookie head coach Josh Pastner leads a new-look Memphis team, headlined by youth and inexperience, into the post-John Calipari era following his exit to head the Kentucky program.

Bill Self's Kansas team features one of the deepest rosters in school history, along with a No. 1 pre-season ranking in every major poll.

Relentless and driven, yet young and unproven, Pastner gets his first chance to make a splash as a head coach as the Tigers and Jayhawks face off once again, this time with considerably less on the line.

Exacting sweet revenge on Bill Self and Kansas would immediately endear him to the hearts of Tiger-loving hoops fans everywhere. Upsetting a national championship contender in the second week of the season is a fantastic way of erasing any lingering skepticism from the fanbase.

The Tigers have enjoyed remarkable success at the national level the last few years. This season, expectations have been tempered; the ear-ringing buzz has evolved into more of a low hum. If the New Tigers are still worthy of some national attention, this is their chance to shout it to the world.

Analyzing the Jayhawks and Tigers

Backcourt: Duke transfer Elliot Williams should make an immediate impact at Memphis. He is a talented offensive player and should blossom into a star for Pastner. Robert Sallie is an outstanding three point shooter. He will have an expanded role this season and will be relied on to do much more than just shoot. Senior Willie Kemp brings experience and must provide some consistency.

Doneal Mack is the Tigers best individual defender, and his services as a stopper will be needed. Explosive and versatile wingman Wesley Weatherspoon will also be counted on to slow down the bevy of dangerous athletes at Self's disposal.

The Kansas backcourt is led by senior Sherron Collins, a preseason candidate for National Player of the Year. He's a terrific shooter and an outstanding penetrator. He has quickness, and strength, and can score in a variety of ways. He's also an experienced leader that provides everything a coach could hope for from a point guard.

Jayhawk blue chip freshman Xavier Henry is an elite talent. He's an incredible scorer, a ridiculous athlete, and a matchup nightmare. He'll combine with productive and versatile sophomore Tyshawn Taylor along with Collins, forming one of the most dangerous and explosive backcourts in America.

Advantage Kansas. The Memphis guards are the strength of the team, but this Kansas group is special.

Frontcourt: Kansas big man Cole Aldrich is a defensive game changer. He blocks shots and rebounds as well as anyone in the country. Like teammate Sherron Collins, Aldrich is a preseason favorite for National Player of the Year. Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris provide additional size up front for the Jayhawks. Both are athletic workhorses who contribute at both ends. The Jayhawk front court is rock solid as well.

For the Tigers, Will Coleman is the man in the middle. Coleman is uniquely explosive and powerful. Though raw, his combination of power and leaping ability make him a low post force. Coleman will team up with a slimmed down (to approximately 275 pounds) Pierre Henderson-Niles to battle the formidable Kansas frontline.

Advantage Kansas: The Aldrich/Coleman matchup is intriguing, as they play similar roles but in very different ways. Coleman relies on his timing and explosive hops to block shots and snatch rebounds, where Aldrich utilizes his size and length to bother and send back shot attempts. Aldrich is, however, a proven entity and a much more complete player. Toss in the Morris twins, and the Jayhawks clearly get the nod up front.

Overall

Pastner and his young squad face an onerous task. The Jayhawks are a legitimate national title contender. They have size, strength, athleticism, skill, and depth. They have one of the best coaches in the country., one of the best point guards in the country and one of the best big men in the country. They are truly a powerhouse.

Ultimately, the Tigers should struggle to cope with the overwhelming depth and talent of the Jayhawks. While there isn't a remarkable discrepancy between the two groups of starters, the dropoff from the first to the second unit of Memphis will be difficult to overcome. This season, they must make a habit of simply wearing their opponent down.

The Kansas Jayhawks are the Ivan Drago of the NCAA. It will take a Rocky Balboan effort for the Tigers to escape with a victory.

Regardless of outcome, it promises to be an entertaining affair.

BtB 2009-10 Ivy League Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:00:19 -0000

It was a relatively quiet offseason in the Ivy League, the lone Division I conference that forgoes a postseason tournament and sends its regular season winner to the NCAA Tournament. Cornell begins this season in great position to cement itself as the league's new dynasty. (Well, as cemented as any team with five senior starters can be.) The Big Red have their third straight league crown firmly in their sights, and a non-conference schedule that could help them win their first tournament contest in that span.

Meanwhile, former league bullies Penn and Princeton look to be in position to challenge. The Tigers return all five of their starters from a team that finished last season in a second place tie with Yale. The Bulldogs' eternal rivals, Tommy Amaker-led Harvard, are looking for a breakthrough. Meanwhile, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, and the aforementioned Elis appear to be in various stages of rebuilding.

I'll go into more specifics for each Ivy team after the jump.

Let's first take a look at last season's Ivy League standings.

Ivy League Standings

(updated 3.11.2009 at 4:11 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Cornell Big Red	11	3	21	9
Princeton Tigers	8	6	13	14
Yale Bulldogs	8	6	13	15
Columbia Lions	7	7	12	16
Dartmouth Big Green	7	7	9	19
Harvard Crimson	6	8	14	14
Penn Quakers	6	8	10	18
Brown Bears	3	11	9	19

Now, here are my picks for the 2009-10 Ivy League season, presented in reverse order.

Dartmouth (last NCAA: 1959) The Big Green have to begin life without Alex Barnett, last year's ivy League Player of the Year, who averaged almost 20 points per game. With him, Dartmouth only managed a .500 mark in the league and won only two games outside of the league. Without him, the team could struggle mightily. While Jerry Dunn returns a boatload of players, led by PG Jabari Trotter, offense and rebounding are issues. Trotter is the leading returning scorer, and he only averaged 7 points per contest.

Brown (last NCAA: 1986) The Bears return three double-figure scorers from the team that earned the Ivy League's Wooden Spoon last season, senior F Matt Mullery (16.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg), junior F Peter Sullivan (14.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg), and junior G Adrian Williams (11 ppg). Despite this, the Bears offense was more inept than you'd expect a team with three double-digit scorers to be last season, averaging 57.5 ppg in Ivy League contests. That's probably because Jesse Agel's team lacked an established point guard, a situation that hasn't been addressed.

Columbia (last NCAA: 1968) The Lions get two transfers to replace the graduated Jason Miller and Joe Bova in froutcourt, 7-foot C Max Craig from Loyola Marymount and 6-7 F Brian Grimes from LaSalle. Grimes actually would have been eligible last season, but a knee injury cost him the year. who sat out last year with a knee injury. Columbia's backcourt has plenty of experience, as Patrick Foley (10.9 ppg, 2.5 apg), who battled injuries last year, Kevin Bulger (5.3 ppg, 2.1 apg), and Noruwa Agho (9.1 ppg) all return. If the new frontcourt can pack a punch, expect to see the Lions higher in the standings.

Yale (last NCAA: 1962) The Bulldogs will be hard-pressed to repeat their first division finish this season, as they lost three starters: Ross Morin, who averaged 13-plus points and nearly 6 boards a contest, Travis Pinick (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg), and PG Chris Andrews (3.1 ppg, 2.8 apg). The good news for the Elis is that SG Alex Zampier and his 13.2 ppg is back. The Bulldogs have a good stable of frontcourt players, including Jordan Gibson, Greg Mangano, Paul Nelson, and Michael Sands. However, none of them averaged more than 4.1 ppg in 2008-09. The Bulldogs could face UConn in the second round of the North Region of the NIT, but they'd have to get by Hofstra in round one first.

Pennsylvania (last NCAA: 2006) Being relatively close to Philly, I made the trip to the Palestra to see a couple of Penn games last season, and I can tell you that Quaker fans weren't happy with Glen Miller in the middle of the season. They can't be any happier after Penn finished with its first losing Ivy record since 1990-91. If the Quakers can stay healthy, they should be improved this season. Miller has a solid backcourt featuring sophomore PG Zack Rosen and junior SG Tyler Bernardini, that should be even better with the return of senior as SG Darren Smith from a knee injury. However, the Quakers biggest health issues last year were in the frontcourt Jack Eggleston (9.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) should receive significant support from Swede Andreas Schreiber (2 ppg, 1 rpg in 08-09, 5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg in 07-08), who missed all but two games last year with a shoulder injury, along with Larry Loughery (who featured in only seven contests), and Justin Reilly (who played in 11).

Harvard (last NCAA: 1946) Tommy Amaker's team seems to be good for one good non-league win a season (Michigan in '07-'08 and Boston College in '08-'09); however, translating those wins into consistent Ivy success is a different story, as the 6 wins recorded last year will attest. Guard Jeremy Lin (17.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) can do a little bit of everything, and the Crimson will need him to after losing Drew Housman (9.6 ppg, 2.8 apg) and Andrew Pusar (6.4 ppg) from backcourt. Lin should get valuable help from sophomore guard Oliver McNally, who averaged 5.9 points a contest last year and looks to be ready to take on a bigger role this time around. Harvard's frontcourt could be a difference maker as 6-7 Pat Magnarelli and 6-10 Andrew Van Nest return after injuries. They'll join two players who performed admirably last season in their absence, 6-8 Keith Wright (8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and 6-7 Doug Miller (6.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 70.4% from the field).

Princeton (last NCAA: 2004) The Tigers finished second last year (even if it was three games behind Cornell) and look to be back after some lean years. Head coach Sydney Johnson loses no starters from last year's squad. The Tigers will trot out a backcourt featuring the Ivy's highest scoring freshman, Douglas Davis (12.3 ppg), three-point sharpshooter Dan Mavraides (10.3 ppg, 42.6 from outside), and reliable PG Marcus Schroeder (4.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 3 apg). The Princeton frontcourt, meanwhile, returns starting center Pawel Buczak (7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and forward Kareem Maddox (5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), along with two key reserves, 6-9 C Zach Finley (4.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and swingman Pat Saunders (5.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Cornell (last NCAA: 2009) Like the team that should be their closest rivals, Steve Donahue's Big Red also features five returning starters, all seniors. Ryan Wittman (18.5 ppg, 2.8 apg) and Louis Dale (13 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.6 apg) form a truly formidable starting backcourt, made even moreso by the presence of Chris Wroblewski who average 6.7 ppg off bench, while shooting 44.1% from beyond the arc. The frontcourt is equally strong, as seven-footer Jeff Foote (11.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg), F Alex Tyler (6.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G/F Geoff Reeves (9 ppg) are all back. Donahue even has newly eligible transfers Mark Coury, a F/C who started at Kentucky, and G Max Groebe (from Massachusetts) at his disposal. The Big Red will need the help in the non-conference part of the schedule, which features road trips to Syracuse, Massachusetts, and Kansas and a home game against Seton Hall.

So, heading into the season, I am picking the Big Red to take their third straight Ivy League crown. You'll see them in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket on November 9. Now, to wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Ivy League team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Ivy League Team

Player of the Year: Ryan Wittman, 6-6 F, Sr. (Cornell)

Remainder of the Team
Louis Dale, 5-11 G, Sr. (Cornell)
Jeff Foote, 7-0 C, Sr. (Cornell)
Jeremy Lin, 6-3 G, Sr. (Harvard)
Matt Mullery, 6-8 F, Sr. (Brown)

Poll

Which team do you pick to win the Ivy League this season?

Brown

3 votes

Columbia

1 votes

Cornell

10 votes

Dartmouth

0 votes

Harvard

2 votes

Penn

2 votes

Princeton

31 votes

Yale

0 votes

49 votes | Poll has closed

Saturday Around the Web

markallanpeterson — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:16:27 -0000

Dewitt ruled ineligible to play at MU

Iowa men to meet Texas in CBE semifinals

UT welcomes new student-athletes to campus

Self sporting a beard

KU’s Henry brothers, Aldrich talk about the season

Wall a Youtube sensation now, will be best guard in country later

Wildcats' Clemente ready for senior season

Iowa, Iowa State try to prevent academic fraud

Missouri basketball recruit Dewitt doesn't clear NCAA

Sports buzz: Mizzou adds new basketball signee

Kreklow commits to Tigers

Live Game Audio Returns To CUBuffs.com

Selective enforcement? NCAA failed to admonish Duke

Kansas State basketball star Denis Clemente swishes unbelievable bank-bounce-bingo shot

KU sells courtside basketball seats for $15,000 each

Two vacated seasons stain Calipari's career

Grading The '09-'10 Cal Basketball Schedule

ragnarok — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:13 -0000

Last week, Cal released their 2009-10 men's basketball schedule. My initial reaction? I'm actually quite excited. While still flawed, especially the lackluster non-conference home schedule, the overall level of both the competition and the opportunities for exposure is a big step up from previous schedules. Last year, I gave the non-conference schedule a disappointing 'C+' grade; this year's slate is a significant upgrade.

Before we get to the grading, I'll recap my own personal scheduling preferences, which inform my grading rubric:

As a fan, I have certain scheduling preferences, which may or may not agree with the philosophy of the coach actually doing the scheduling. I of course like home games, but I like them against interesting opponents. Nationally-recognized opponents are of course great, but local mid-majors are also fun to have on the schedule. Tournaments are great, especially when they lead to some nationally-televised games on ESPN. I like to see a challenging (though not brutal) non-conference slate, something that will prepare our team for the rigors of the Pac-10. I don't like playing terrible teams just to get a guaranteed win, and I'm not interested in seeing Cal beat up on a team I've never heard of. A quick rule of thumb: if I don't know what state a team is from, I'm probably not interested in seeing Cal play them.

Now, on with the judging!

*all Ratings listed here come from Ken Pomeroy .

Nov. 9 - Murray State Racers (19-12 last year, 13-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference (2nd); PomRating last year : 137; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 160)
Nov. 11 - Detroit Titans (7-23 last year, 2-16 in the Horizon League (10th); PomRating last year : 279; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 213)

The Cal Bears open their season at home with a couple games that open the Coaches v. Cancer Classic. These games, however, are hardly likely to be classic. The Bears open against a school that you very well may never have heard of. The first red flag that went off for me? "Murray" is not a State (unlike Kentucky, where the school is actually located). Then, two days later, they take on Detroit, whose team is about as bad as the rest of the news coming out of Detroit lately. We're entering Chump City, folks.

Actually, the Murray State Racers' record last year was actually pretty decent (and they lost @ Missouri by just 11, a far better showing that the Bears put up), so it might be a mistake to overlook these guys, almost all of whom are coming back this year. If Cal is truly ready to contend for the Pac-10 title, Murray State shouldn't present an overwhelming challenge, but if the Bears aren't careful...well, it'd be a disastrous way to start the season. Other than the fact that I've never really heard of these guys, this seems like a good mid-level opponent to start off the season, and since this game comes as part of the Coaches v. Cancer package, I'm even more in support of it.

The Detroit game? Not so much. The Titans are almost certain to be anywhere from bad to awful next season, and I'm anticipating a lot of playing time for the Bears' bench in the second half. But rather than bore you with talk about this team, I'll use this space to rant about how shady it is that this tournament includes a number of teams that have absolutely no chance to win this event -- not only that, but they're not even mentioned anywhere on the event's website! From the official site:

New Format

- The 2009 tournament will include a 12-team field with games at four regional sites (Syracuse, North Carolina, Ohio State and Cal) between November 9-13. Championship Round games will be played on November 19 & 20.

- The four regional hosts will play two games at home and then automatically advance to the Championship Rounds in New York City, regardless of the regional results.

- All other participants will automatically advance to play a round-robin series at one of two other sub-regional sites. Thus, every participating team will be guaranteed four games.

- Thus, every participating team will be guaranteed four games, regardless of the regional results.

Lame!! Anyway, to get the good games with the exposure in New York City, you gotta accept a couple of chumps beforehand. Oh well, I guess I can live with it. My grade might be higher if Detroit didn't suck so much, but they do, so... Grade: B+

Nov. 19-20 - Coaches vs. Cancer Classic - North Carolina Tar Heels (34-4 last year, 13-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (1st); PomRating last year : 1; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 3) -- or -- Syracuse Orange (28-10 last year, 11-7 in the Big East Conference (6th); PomRating last year : 15; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 35) -- or -- Ohio State Buckeyes (22-11 last year, 10-8 in the Big Ten Conference (4th); PomRating last year : 37; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 22)

I absolutely love these games; there's basically no downside. Big-time exposure in New York and on TV, quality, big-name opposition...even if the Bears don't win a game, as long as they don't embarrass themselves in front of a national audience, nobody will hold it against them.

And on the upside? If the Bears can win this tournament, they could solidify a Top 10 ranking and mark the coming-out party of a national basketball power. It won't be easy -- North Carolina may not repeat as national champions, but they're hardly going to fade into obscurity, and both Syracuse and Ohio State will be tough matchups as well. Regardless of the outcome, this tournament is exactly the kind of thing that past Golden Bear schedules have lacked, and exactly the kind of non-conference preparation that a team picked to contend for the Pac-10 title will need. Grade: A+

Nov. 24 - Jacksonville Dolphins (18-14 last year, 15-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference (1st); PomRating last year : 127; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 233)

Competition-wise, Jacksonville is a decent opponent (other than their leading rebounder, they return basically everyone from a team that won the Atlantic Sun last year), but in terms of fan interest, it could really hardly be lower. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm the most knowledgable college basketball fan out there, but if I've never heard of Jacksonville University, I'd be willing to bet most other Cal fans haven't either. Just as the Coaches vs. Cancer games in New York offer the Bears nothing to lose, a game like this offers them virtually nothing to gain. A win, and nobody is surprised (or even notices, really), whereas a loss looks poorly on their record. Assuming the Bears win without too much trouble, this game offers a chance to get a bunch of players some work, but don't expect too many fans to show up. Grade: C+

Nov. 29 - Princeton Tigers (13-14 last year, 8-6 in the Ivy League (2nd); PomRating last year : 260; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 270)

I can't help but think that Cal's frustrating inability to defeat the less-talented Oregon State Beavers and their Princeton offense last season led Coach Mike Montgomery to schedule a practice game against the original article, the Princeton Tigers. Princeton hasn't been very good these last few years, but perhaps returning nearly everyone from last year's team will allow them to master a complicated offense. This game should draw at least some mild fan interest, though I don't know if the level of competition will match it. However, if the practice helps the Bears to finally beat the Beavers, it will have been more than worth it. Grade: B-

Dec. 2 - at New Mexico Lobos (22-12 last year, 12-4 in the Mountain West Conference (1st); PomRating last year : 39; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 79)

Playing at "The Pit" is never an easy proposition, even moreso when the defending Mountain West champs are playing well. While New Mexico does lose a number of important seniors, and so will be rather young next year, this still won't be an easy road game. I like this game, as it not only should be a good test for our Bears, but it gets Cal a return home game for the 2010-11 season. Grade: A-

Dec. 5 - Iowa State Cyclones (15-17 last year, 4-12 in the Big Twelve Conference (10th); PomRating last year : 112; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 102)

I'm a big fan of the Big XII / Pac-10 Hardwood Challenge, as it gets schools from both conferences home-and-home series with tough BCS conference schools. However, whoever scheduled this series has done a disservice to both Cal and Iowa State, creating the biggest mismatch of the series. Cal, widely picked to finish either first or second in the Pac-10, gets and Iowa State squad that won just 4 conference games last year, and will struggle to crack the top half of the conference. Overall, I like the series, but am disappointed in this particular opponent. What's more disappointing? This is probably the best home game the Bears will get this year before the conference season begins. Grade: B

Dec. 9 - at Pacific Tigers (21-13 last year, 10-6 in the Big West Conference (2nd); PomRating last year : 113; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 135)

Last year, Pacific gave the Bears a bit of a test before losing by 12 to open the season. This year, the Bears return the game to Stockton, though they'll face a Tigers squad that has lost a number of important seniors, including players who scored 34 of the 56 points Pacific scored in losing at Haas last year. Not a great game, by any means, though it should be another decent road test for the Bears in front of what I can only assume will be a pretty amped-up crowd in Stockton, one that ought to contain at least a fair number of Cal fans. If the Bears are going to play mid-majors, I'd much prefer they be local ones that garner at least some interest within the Bay Area. Grade: B

Dec. 22 - at Kansas Jayhawks (27-8 last year, 14-2 in the Big Twelve Conference (1st); PomRating last year : 10; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 5)

Fresh off of final exams, the Bears will travel to Lawrence, Kansas to face a much bigger test: a road game against the consensus preseason favorite to win it all next year. I expect some good TV expsoure for this game, and win or lose, the experience should pay dividends down the road. As a added bonus, the Bears get a return visit to Haas from Kansas in 2010. Grade: A+

Dec. 28-29 - Golden Bear Classic - Furman Paladins (6-24 last year, 4-12 in the Southern Conference (11th); PomRating last year : 325; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 263) -- and -- UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (16-15 last year, 8-8 in the Big West Conference (4th); PomRating last year : 169; Avg. PomRating last 4 years : 158) -- or -- Utah Valley Wolverines (17-11 last year; PomRating last year : 159)

Finally, the Bears wrap up the non-conference season with the annual Golden Bear Classic, and just like the last however many years, I once again struggle to care. UC Santa Barbara is at least somewhat local and not completely awful (though they did lose their best player to graduation), but Utah Valley is both miscelaneous and new to Division I, and until TwistNHook told me, I didn't even know what state Furman was in! (South Carolina, in case you were interested.) Furman (whom I'm assuming will be Cal's opening round opponent) is also one of those teams that is so bad (one of the 20 worst teams in Division I last year) that just by playing them, the Bears will do harm to their RPI.

I've railed about the uselessness of this tournament before, but it obviously hasn't improved anything. At best, this tournament gives these kids a chance to play two games in two days; at worst, they'll lose a game, drawing embarassment and damage to their NCAA tournament résumé. Coming after the Kansas game, these games will be both a letdown in competition and a poor tune-up for Pac-10 competition. Meh. Grade: C-

Overall, it's a big improvement over last season's schedule, but there's still some weak spots. Specifically, the home non-conference slate is pretty much devoid of interesting games (Iowa State and Princeton are the headliners, and neither game is inducing this fence-sitter to finally pony-up for season tickets), and the Golden Bear Classic once again fails to be worth of the name "Classic". But the road/neutral schedule offers plenty of challenges, and I expect this team to be battle-tested (with a decent RPI to boot) come the beginning of Pac-10 play, hosting Stanford on January 2, 2010. Though the non-conference schedule was close to earning a B+, I'm giving it a final mark (go ahead, add up the GPA!) of a solid Grade: B

Poll

How would you grade next year's basketball schedule?

A

48 votes

B

76 votes

C

16 votes

D

5 votes

F

3 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

Lucky Bracket 13 - 7 March 2009

Chris Dobbertean — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:08:41 -0000

As I mentioned in the comments yesterday evening, we're at the point of the season where things are going to move very quickly.

Here's a rundown of last night's action and how it impacts today's bracket. (All game info from the always valuable Basketball State.)

Tennessee-Martin, the top seed in the Ohio Valley, lost to Morehead State, 63-55. That means the Skyhawks, featuring Lester "Done Ruthless" Hudson, are bound for the NIT. The Eagles meet up with #2 seed (and the auto bid holder for this bracket) Austin Peay in tonight's final.
The top two seeds in the Atlantic Sun, Jacksonville and East Tennessee State, will meet tonight to determine that league's auto bid.
Creighton very nearly found themselves out, as it appeared that Wichita State had beaten them. However, the refs added 1.9 seconds to the clock. That was just enough time for Valley POY Booker Woodfox to hit a jumper to give the Jays the win, 63-62. The Shockers won the rebounding battle by 20!
And the Cornell Big Red are the first team in, after they beat Penn 83-59 and Princeton lost to Columbia by 14. Like all teams who win their conference's auto bid, they'll appear in bold in the bracket from here on out.

In terms of the bracket as a whole (seed list, trends), there's been a little bit of shuffling among the protected seeds since my last update on Monday. Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina are still hanging around on the top line. Oklahoma falls down to the two line, however, after dropping three of their last four. Memphis, nearing another perfect Conference USA run, replaces the Sooners.

Joining OU on the two line are three teams who are regulars: Duke, Louisville, and Michigan State. Of these four, the Sooners and Cardinals probably have the best shot at stealing a #1 seed, but the Blue Devils can't be counted out, especially with a game in Chapel Hill Sunday and the ACC tournament to come.

Kansas, Missouri, and Wake Forest stay on the three line, but Clemson drops down to the 4 line. Villanova replaces them, as the Wildcats recovered from a disappointing loss to Georgetown last Saturday by closing out their Big East slate with two 17-point wins over former contender Notre Dame and current bubble team Providence.

Joining the Tigers on the 4 line are Marquette, Washington, and Xavier. The Golden Eagles may not stay here for long, as they've yet to show they can win without Dominic James. The Musketeers, meanwhile, replace Purdue. The Boilermakers fall down to the 5 line after their home loss to suddenly alive Northwestern on Wednesday night.

For lines 5 on down, here are your jumps and declines for the week, presented in their seed line order:

Jumps: Florida State, UCLA, Syracuse, West Virginia, UNLV, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Binghamton, Morgan State

Declines: Purdue, LSU, Illinois, Utah, Wisconsin, Boston College, South Carolina, Creighton, Dayton, Cornell, Jacksonville

At the bottom of the at-large pool, there are quite a few changes. Arizona is out after they lost their fourth in a row Thursday night. Kentucky is also gone after they lost to hapless Georgia at Rupp Wednesday night. Maryland and Virginia Tech both drop out after they lost key midweek games.

Replacing them are four teams who are actually attempting to play, not back, their way in. Penn State is in after their thrilling victory over Illinois on Thursday night, a far different one than their infamous 38-33 win in Champaign a few weeks ago. Oklahoma State has won six straight and is 8-4 in their last 12. The four losses include three on the road and three to probable tournament teams (and the fourth is to Texas A&M, who is also on the bubble.) The Cowboys own a win over Rhode Island, another newcomer. The Rams have also won six straight, but they're 10-2 in their last 12. New Mexico is the last team in. The Lobos are 9-3 in their last 12 and have split with all of their competition in the Mountain West. That's a big reason why they're 4-5 against the RPI Top 50. Depending on what happens today, they can still claim a regular season conference title, which would definitely boost their case.

I'm headed off to Richmond for the CAA quarterfinals. I'll be tweeting during my time there, so be sure to follow along. My next bracket will be out on Tuesday instead of the normal Monday, as real life permitting, I'll be at the CAA championship game.

Happy Hoops Viewing!

Note: To keep with the theme I've developed over the past couple of years, I use Roadgeek fonts extensively in my files. You can download them for free from Mike the Actuary's Musings.