UPDATE: Wait, Baylor beating TCU blew up the Big 12?

(Ed. Note: Before I get into the meat of this post, I think we should all take a moment and think -- truly think -- about the absurdity of conference realignment.

Last night's game between Baylor and TCU is what college football is all about. A stadium packed with fans on a Friday night watched an underdog shred one of the best defenses in country before blowing a 24 point lead and then having the intestinal wherewithal to respond with a game-winning field goal and a game-ending interception. It was truly a magical game, one that should have every college football fan in the country buzzing -- both literally and figuratively -- for today, the first Saturday of the season.

Instead, all anyone can talk about is realignment. Can the Big 12 hold on to Texas and Oklahoma? Who does the SEC get as a 14th? Is the Pac-12 done expanding? Cougars and Hokies and Noles, oh my!

Not only are the power conferences and their rich, white middle men lining their pockets off of the product that a bunch of college kids put on the field -- and on your television -- every weekend, now we are ignoring that product to speculate how the next billion-dollar deal shakes out.

I need a shower. If you dare, read on.)


Basketball isn't the only sport played at the collegiate level that can get, well, crazy.

Take Baylor and TCU last night. If you missed it, I don't blame you (too much). It was the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and all. Baylor hit a three hit a 37 yard field goal to knock off No. 14 TCU 50-48 despite blowing a 24 point second half lead. It was wild, and I'm sure a perfect example of why all those college football zealots are so ... zealous? I'd be willing to bet that Baylor-TCU would post a similar score if the two were to play in hoops.

But the game itself isn't what truly mattered last night. It was the news that leaked out while the game was being played.

Let's start with the comments that Oklahoma president David Boren made yesterday. Read them in full here, but the money quote is right here: "I don’t think there’s any chance OU’s going to end up being a wallflower." That was the last thing Boren said, but when taken in context with the rest of his press conference -- again, I urge you to read it in its entirety -- its not hard to read between the lines.

It gets worse. Oh, so much worse. Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com -- who has been all over the conference realignment story dating back to last year -- paints a dreary picture for the Big 12. Not only does Brown report that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held a conference call for the program president's -- excluding Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M -- in which Beebe essentially asked the rest of the league to plead with Texas not to leave for the Pac-12, but he quotes one source as saying that there is a "50 to 60 percent" chance that UT bounces.

Poor Dan Beebe. He's either totally clueless or already accepted defeat and that he's out of a job.

Texas doesn't hold the power here. Oklahoma does. Another interesting tidbit from Brown's report is that a source tells him the Pac-12 would be willing to accept Oklahoma and their tag-along little brother, Oklahoma State, should they opt to leave the conference. With those two gone, the Big 12 will be nothing but a memory. I'm sure Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is keenly aware that by landing Oklahoma and hitting the Big 12 with a crippling blow, he makes his conference look just that much more attractive to Texas.

So either Beebe doesn't realize that he needs to rest of the Big 12 to beg and plead with Oklahoma not to go anywhere, or he's resigned himself to the fact that the Sooners are westward bound and is doing what he can to hold the Big 12 scraps together by duct-taping the rest of the conference to Papa Texas.

Pick your poison, I guess.

So I hope the Bears enjoyed that win last night. Because fairly soon -- possibly as early as next week -- we could find out that it is TCU, and not Baylor, that has a BCS conference membership.

UPDATE: It didn't exactly need to be said, but according to Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman, OU's "sole focus" is heading west. Hello Pac-16, goodbye Big 12, and for the love of god, will the Big East scoop up Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri already?
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Why is Lon Kruger honoring Dave Bliss?

I love when programs take the time to honor teams and players from the past.

Alumni games, retired jerseys, honorary assistant coaches, everything. I think that it not only is entertaining for the fans -- and hopefully the players -- but its also a terrific recruiting tool. "Once you're part of our program you'll always be a part of our program." Its not a hard sell.

That said, when a program decides to hold these honorary events, they need to make sure that people people involved are worthy. Exhibit A: Oklahoma. From the AP:

More than 100 former players turned out for a reunion weekend that featured a Legends Alumni Game on Saturday. Price and White, the backcourt tandem from the Sooners' 2002 Final Four run, played - albeit on opposite teams - and Griffin came out as a spectator.

Two of Kruger's predecessors, Kelvin Sampson and Dave Bliss, served as opposing coaches in a game that had to be decided in sudden-death overtime.

You read that right.

At an alumni game held to honor the likes of Hollis Price and Quannas White -- the two stars of Oklahoma's last Final Four team -- as well as Blake Griffin, Kruger invited back two coaches that have effectively been black-listed by the NCAA. For Sampson, calling him a persona-non-grata on the Norman campus is not necessarily fair. He got into trouble with the NCAA for making too many phone calls, a rule that was just as silly then as it is now and will not be a violation for that much longer.

Sampson I can understand.

Bliss, I cannot.

Because he is as epic of a scumbag as you will ever come across. I mention this quite a bit, but I always assume everyone knows what Bliss did. For those that don't know, back in 2003 Carlton Dotson shot and killed Patrick Dennehy, teammates on a Baylor team coached by Bliss. In an effort to try and cover-up recruiting violations he had committed -- including paying around $7,000 that wasn't paid for by Dennehy's scholarship -- Bliss tried to get his team and his coaching staff to tell investigators that Dennehy had been selling drugs to get the cash to pay for school. They also failed to tell investigators that two of Dennehy's teammates had threatened him just days before the murder.

Yeah.

That's who Lon Kruger brought in for Oklahoma's alumni game.

If it was me, I would want people to forget that Bliss had been a part of the Oklahoma program.
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Oklahoma's proposed sanctions will put the pressure on Lon Kruger

On Thursday afternoon, Oklahoma offered themselves up on the NCAA's chopping block for violations committed by assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro. If you've forgotten, Taliferro, through a financial advisor in Florida, orchestrated a payment of $3,000 to Keith "Tiny" Gallon in an effort to help Gallon pay for his high school transcripts so he can enroll in college.

Those violations led, in part, to Jeff Capel's firing as the head coach of the Sooners.

Here is what Oklahoma, who was already on probation thanks to Kelvin Sampson and his phone calls, is proposing:

Oklahoma asked the NCAA to place the program on two more years of probation, vacate its wins from a 13-18 season in 2009-10 and take away one scholarship, two official visits and 10 in-person recruiting days during the upcoming academic year.

Losing a scholarship is not a huge deal in college basketball. Teams often don't use their full allotment of 13 scholarships, and if they do, that final scholarship player is usually a walk-on that gets lucky. The recruiting sanctions -- losing two official visits and 10 in-person recruiting days -- is just as trivial. Its not an ideal situation, but its essentially a glorified slap on the wrist. And I'm not going to get into another rant about how pointless it is to vacate a season, particularly a season that everyone in Norman is more than willing to forget.

The only punishment with any juice that Oklahoma offered up is the two extra years of probation, a sanction that the program has already violated.

Considering that the Sooners qualify as repeat violators -- two major infractions in five years -- its tough for me to believe that the NCAA is going to accept their proposal. Then again, the NCAA also believes vacating a season is a major punishment, so who knows.

The only thing that I know is that the start of the Lon Kruger era in Oklahoma just got that much tougher.

I agree with Matt Norlander. Kruger had to have known that something like this was coming when he agreed to leave UNLV this spring (well, that and he doubled his old salary for the next seven years). Because as trivial as some of the sanctions that Oklahoma proposed are, their effect will get magnified by the fact that Kruger has to rebuild an Oklahoma program that has spent the past two seasons buried at the bottom of the Big 12 and isn't expected to go anywhere soon.

Convincing blue-chip recruits to be the foundation in a rebuilding process is difficult enough. Having to do so with limits on recruiting makes it that much harder. Kruger -- who will make $16.6 million over the next seven years -- has to be efficient in his recruiting. He has to find players that he has a realistic shot of getting and that can positively effect the program, and he has to make sure that those players end up at Oklahoma.

More than anything, these sanctions are going to make Kruger's margin for error microscopic.
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Can Jeff Capel survive this loss?

Its amazing how far Jeff Capel's Oklahoma program has fallen.

Astonishing really.

The Sooners lost 68-64 this afternoon to Chaminade. Yes, Chaminade. The Silver Swords. The high school dweeb that hangs out with the cool kids because his parents let him throw parties. Chaminade has hosted the Maui Invitational since 1984. Every year. Coming into tonight, they had played 78 games in their tournament. They had won five.


Chaminade is not a terrible basketball team by Division II standards. They hung tough with Michigan State, losing by just eight points to the No. 2 team in the country, at one point leading by five in the second half. They kept it close with Wichita State into the second half.

But keep in mind, just 20 short months ago, Oklahoma and 2009 Player of the Year and No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin were squaring off with North Carolina for the right to go to the Final Four.

Today, they lost to a Division II team.

But, hey, they finished 8th in both tournaments.

The question that now must be asked is how long will Jeff Capel have his job as head man in Norman?

He completely whiffed on his last two recruiting class. McDonald's all-americans Willie Warren, Tommy Mason-Griffin, and Tiny Gallon all turned out to be massive busts. There is some talent on this roster -- Cade Davis, Steven Pledger, Andrew Fitzgerald, and Cameron Clark are all capable high-major players -- but in five years at a school like Oklahoma, that group is far from impressive. Part of recruiting is identifying if a kid is capable of functioning in society off the court as well as his ability on the court.

I think its safe to say that Capel has not yet mastered this aspect of the recruiting process.

Does he have the talent on this roster to make a turnaround? Because if he doesn't make a significant improvement with this team, he may not be around to see the next crop of recruits develop.
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Tiny Gallon speaks about the NCAA investigation

We've all heard about the allegations involving Tiny Gallon and Oklahoma.

In short, Gallon was wired $3,000 by a financial adviser in Florida. Former Oklahoma assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro's phone records show 41 calls and 25 texts between the two. Generally in situations like this, where there's smoke, there's fire, and there is enough smoke here for Gregg Doyel to call for Oklahoma's basketball program to get the death penalty.

Tiny Gallon finally spoke about the allegations he is facing.
(photo credit: NewsOK)

Gallon hadn't commented on the allegations until today, when he spoke with Adam Zagoria.

"Oak Hill wouldn't release my transcript under no circumstances and my mother had to do what she had to do," Gallon told Zagoria. "It wasn't an agent, it was a financial adviser. She got the money from him, got my transcript out of Oak Hill Academy. I got a single mother. When she got the money, she paid the financial adviser back through my freshmen year."

"Oak Hill gave my mother a bill for $3,000," Gallon said. "Until she paid, I couldn't go to school. It wasn't like I was getting the money and paying it to everybody. Three thousand dollars, that's nothing to get my transcript ... She paid the man back over the course of my freshman year."

Gallons also said that the scandal was the main reason he decided to leave school after his freshman season, in large part because of how long it was taking the NCAA to respond to him.

Gallon makes it seem as if this was a loan, which is very well may have been. But from what he is saying, it doesn't seem like this was anything official; I doubt his mother would have been able to get a loan via any legitimate means if she had accrued $3,000 in tuition payments. (According to a Zagoria source, Gallon's mother didn't pay her tuition bills all year long.)

And if this was simply a loan, there's no way that the relationship and phone calls between Taliaferro and the financial advisor were mutually exclusive events from the "loan". Its not a leap of faith to assume that Taliaferro orchestrated the money exchanging hands.

Regardless of what that money was used for, an assistant coach going through back channels to get $3,000 into a recruit's bank account is a pretty serious violation, even if it was done with the best of intentions.

As far as the NCAA investigation, Gallon said "I'm really not sure but shouldn't nothing happen."

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you there, Tiny.

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Oklahoma's collapse: Is Capel to blame?

It wasn't that long ago that Jeff Capel was considered one of, if not the best, up and coming young coach in the business.

While that still may be true, he is going to have his work cut out for him trying to prove it.

The 2008-09 season saw Capel, with the help of a guy by the name of Blake Griffin, lead Oklahoma to a 30-6 season and a trip to the Elite 8. After getting a stroke of luck with Willie Warren's decision to return for his sophomore season and landing a recruiting class that featured, among others, two McDonald's all-americans in Tommy Mason-Griffin and Tiny Gallon, the future looked bright in Norman.

My, that seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?

Jeff Capel certainly didn't have the season he was hoping for.
(photo credit: Zimbio)

This year was nothing short of a disaster for the Sooners. Warren was in and out of the line-up as he battled leadership issues, a bum ankle, and a bout of mono. Gallon never really lived up to his hype coming out of high school. Mason-Griffin seemed to thrive only when the other two players were out of the line-up and he was allowed free reign to shoot as much as he liked.

Oklahoma ended the year a disappointing 13-18. No one was predicting a national title for the Sooners this year, but a trip to the tournament -- and a winning record -- were expected.

Things only got worse after the season ended.

Mason-Griffin, Gallon, and Warren have all entered their names into the draft and have, or will shortly, signed with an agent. Gallon is being investigated for a TMZ Sports report that he may have received $3,000 from a financial adviser in Florida. Assistant coach and lead recruiter Oronde Taliaferro has resigned over speculation that he may have been involved in funneling money to Gallon. Orlando Allen and Ray Willis have both decided to transfer out of Oklahoma.

Combine that with the graduation of Ryan Wright and Tony Crocker, and Capel is left with just four scholarship players.

And while his recruiting class would be solid most years -- 6'6" small forward Cameron Clark headlines a trio that also includes top 100 point guard TJ Taylor and the recently signed Tyler Neal -- it only leaves Capel with seven players. And with Gallon gone, there isn't much size left to speak of.

To his credit, Capel is in seemingly good spirits.

"In order to get better, sometimes you have to cleanse," Capel said in a news conference last week. "Sometimes you have to lose some things. Sometimes things have to fall apart in order for them to fall back together. With some of guys that we've had that have left, I'm not really surprised. It's something that's going on around the country, not just here in our program."

The question I find myself asking is whether or not Capel is at fault for the collapse of the Oklahoma program.

My answer: maybe?

The last four years, he has brought in quite a bit of talent. Griffin, Warren, Mason-Griffin, Gallon, and Clark were all highly-touted recruits. Put out a starting line-up of those five players, and on paper you have yourself a team that can compete for a national title.

The problem is that three of those five kids turned out to be much more of a headache off the court than an asset on it. Reading through some recent quotes from Capel, and it is not difficult to infer that Warren, Mason-Griffin, and Gallon never really wanted to be in school this year, especially once the Sooners started losing.

Is that Capel's fault?

Yes and no. Yes, he brought in these talented kids. That is what coaches are supposed to do. No, he wasn't able to get them to buy into his system, something else coaches are supposed to do.

And while he was not able to build up any kind of team chemistry, can you blame him for trying? Don't you want your coach to believe that he can get a kid -- any kid, regardless of attitude or personality -- to buy into his system?

Capel took on a chance on a couple of youngsters, and it blew up in his face. But I guarantee there isn't one Sooner fan out there complaining the next time he signs a McDonald's all-american.

But like any coach worth his million dollar contract salt, Capel was able to spin it in a good light.

"For a lot of people, it may look doom and gloom," Capel said. "But for me, it's exciting. It's certainly a challenge, but it's something I think we're all up for."

I hope you're up for it, Jeff. Like you said, it will certainly be a challenge.
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The state of Oklahoma could lose quite a few players to the Draft

No matter the program, eventually early entry into the NBA Draft is going to catch up to you.

This week, its the Oklahoma schools catching the brunt of it.

First, Oklahoma State's James Anderson announced he was going pro. Its probably the correct decision for Anderson, this year's Big XII player of the year, to make. He's expected to go somewhere in the first round, maybe even as high as top 20, and is probably the second best shooting guard prospect on the board.

How good is Anderson going to be? Well, that's another question. There is no doubt he can score -- he averaged almost 23 ppg and anyone that saw him get hot an go for 25 in a half was likely convinced. Anderson's issue isn't the ability to score -- or, more specifically, shoot -- its the ability to get to the rim and to defend. Anderson goes almost exclusively left when he puts the ball on the floor, and he is a smooth, if not a bit underathletic, when getting to the rim. Defensively, he had a lot of question marks coming into this season, and he didn't exactly answer those.

Still, this is a relatively weak year for wing prospects, and Anderson is one of the best.

Everyone -- including Travis Ford -- probably expected Anderson to go pro at the end of the season. The same can't be said for some of Jeff Capel's guys.

Let's start with Tommy Mason-Griffin. TMG reportedly packed up his bags and left Oklahoma prior to Spring Break with no intention of returning to Norman, and it looks as if he is headed to the league. A 5'10" point that isn't overly athletic or quick, doesn't like being coached, can't get to or finish around the rim, and likes to shoot 30 footers doesn't exactly scream potential, which makes one wonder what exactly he is thinking?

TMG had a pretty nice set up at Oklahoma. If he had decided to come back, it would have been his team from the start of the season, and I'm willing to bet that the 14 point and 5 assist averages he posted could have been improved upon.

Why?

Because it seems very unlikely that either Willie Warren or Tiny Gallon will be returning. Reports surfaced late in the season that Gallon had received a bunch of money from an agent, and right before the NCAA Tournament started, new trickled out (from TMZ Sports, nonetheless) that it was actually $3,000 that he had given. Gallon had already said he was going to be returning to Norman for his sophomore season, but that was prior to the TMZ report coming out.

He may not have a choice anymore.

Warren seems all but a given to go. People were a bit inquisitive last year when he decided to return to school as he was projected to as high as a lottery pick. And this year, Warren did a whole lot of nothin', and, frankly, probably hurt his draft stock in the process. He was suspended early in the season by Jeff Capel -- apparently over leadership issues -- and spent the rest of his season battling inconsistency and focus before his season finally succumbed to a bum ankle and a bout of mono.

That said, Warren has quite a skill. He can score, he can shoot, he can finish with authority, and he can play either guard spot. If he can prove to scouts that he actually is not a head case, Warren should be a mid-first rounder.

Whatever happens, it looks like Jeff Capel will have his work cut out for him next season.
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I hope the agent Tiny Gallon allegedly spoke with didn't advise him to create TinyGallon.com

Losing the Brothers-Griffin after last season, no one really expected Oklahoma to be primed to make another Final Four.

But bringing back Willie Warren and Tony Crocker and teaming them with a decent group of role players and a star-studded class of freshman made for a lot of optimism around Norman.

That last for all of two games, as the Sooners lost to VCU, San Diego, and Houston in the first few weeks of the season. They headed into Big XII play with five losses, and immediately dropped their league opener to Baylor by 31 points.

There's actually a TinyGallon.com
(photo credit: TinyGallon.com)

After getting drubbed by Oklahoma State 97-76 today, the Sooners have now lost two in a row, three of four, and five of their last seven.

And believe it or not, it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Willie Warren was supposed to compete for national player of the year, he's been in and out of the line-up as he's dealt with leadership issues and a pretty severe ankle injury. Then on Saturday, Warren never even made the trip to Stillwater.

Why?

He has mono, which means he will be out for an extended period of time.

Tiny Gallon didn't play either. Gallon was expected to be the heir-apparent to Griffin in the pivot, but the 6'9", 275 lb, Gallon's affinity for perimeter play has limited his effectiveness. Currently averaging just 10.4 ppg and 8.0 rpg, Gallon was recently relegated to coming off the bench in favor of Ryan Wright.

Word leaked out prior to the 2pm tip that Gallon had been suspended indefinitely, and OUHoops.com thinks they know why:

Sources tell OUHoops.com that Gallon’s suspension was due to concerns over improper contact with an agent prior to the beginning of the season.

So there's that.

Anyway, I think its a long shot that Warren or Gallon is back in Norman next season. With Crocker and Wright graduating, Jeff Capel better hope that Tommy Mason-Griffin doesn't leave. If he does, the Sooners may be in for a few rebuilding years.
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What is Dillard's?

Let's play a game for a second.

Pretend you are a basketball player for a school like, say, Oklahoma. Now pretend that your basketball team, which has been struggling this season, just beat a heated rival for your best win of the season; a win that will hopefully turn your team's fortunes in the other direction.

What do you do to celebrate?

Go out to dinner with family that's in town? Partake in the massive amounts of underage partying? Maybe try and meet one of the many good-looking young women that tend to populate a campus like Oklahoma's? All of the above?

I mean, that's what I would do.

But I'm not Steven Pledger or Andrew Fitzgerald.

Because to celebrate the win over Texas, Pledger and Fitzgerald, both freshman on OU's basketball team, decided to try and shoplift some t-shirts from Dillard's, a store at the Sooner Fashion Mall in Norman. They weren't arrested, but the were cited and allowed to leave by the store's security.

Idiots.

Oklahoma plays Texas Tech tonight in what is basically a must-win game for the Sooners if they want to keep their tournament hopes alive. Now, Jeff Capel must make a decision on whether or not these two will be allowed to play. Pledger is averaging 6.5 ppg while Fitzgerald is scoring 3.7 ppg.

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Free throws stopped the comeback, but its not why Texas lost yesterday

Texas lost at Oklahoma yesterday, and if you watched any of the talking heads break down the game, the one thing you heard consistently was that free throws cost Texas the game.

Its not necessarily wrong. The Longhorns did shoot 10-27 from the foul line for the game, and just 4-11 in the second half while they were trying to make a comeback from a 19 point deficit.

But that's not why they lost.

They lost because they managed to get themselves down 19 points to an Oklahoma team that was basically playing without Willie Warren.

Tommy Mason-Griffin went for 24 points and 4 assists last night.
(photo credit: The Globe and Mail)

Texas looked horrendous for the first 22 minutes of the game. They couldn't get any stops against Oklahoma. Tommy Mason-Griffin absolutely torched the Horns in the first half. Dogus Balbay and Justin Mason, two very good defenders, both had their ankles broken a few times as TMG went for 16 first half points. He was able to use the dribble to get himself open on the perimeter, and didn't miss many jump shots. When he couldn't get loose, TMG was able to get by his man and into the paint, finding Cade Davis, who went for 20 and 10 while knocking down four threes.

Offensively, the Horns were just as bad. It seems like Texas, as a team, doesn't know what they want to do offensively. They have trouble getting the ball inside to Damion James and Dexter Pittman, they have guards that penetrate and take wild shots way too often, and they really lack a go-to scorer. The latter is probably the biggest issue for Rick Barnes, seeing as the last few years his offense as basically been clear out and give the ball to Kevin Durant/DJ Augustin/AJ Abrams.

And then there is Jordan Hamilton.

Hamilton went nuts against Oklahoma State, scoring 27 points and carrying the Horns in the second half. It was a disaster in disguise.

You see, Hamilton is a chucker. When he gets the ball in his hands, in all likelihood a shot is going up. Not necessarily a good shot, either. Too many possessions get wasted when Hamilton forces up a tough runner or a contested jumper. It wouldn't be a problem, however, if Hamilton played every close at least close to how well he played in Stillwater.

But he doesn't.

In fact, over the last six games (not including the 27 point outburst), Hamilton scored just 29 points on 11-43 shooting. He's not the guy you want taking 10-15 shots a game thinking he can score 25 a night.

The bottom line for Texas, and the main reason they are struggling right now, is that their best offensive players cannot defend, and their best defensive players are inept on the offensive end. Justin Mason and Dogus Balbay, despite leaving their ankles on the court trying to guard TMG, are bot very, very good defenders. Offensively, there really isn't much there for either of them. Hell, defenses even play 10 feet off of Balbay on the perimeter begging him to shoot.

J'Covan Brown and Hamilton are quite the opposite. Both are capable of creating their own shot and scoring points, but Brown couldn't guard a fence post if he tried, and Hamilton simply doesn't try.

This creates quite a dilemma for Rick Barnes. Do you leave your defensive unit out there and hope Avery Bradley and James can get you enough points, or do you put your offensive players on the court, and hope that you simply outscore your opponent?

Yesterday, it got to the point that Barnes was forced to go offense-defense, rotating through Hamilton/Brown and Mason/Balbay, for a good chuck of the second half.

And Texas responded.

They made a run to cut a 19 point lead down to five. Maybe if they had hit their free throws, they would have completed the comeback.

But if they hadn't dug themselves a 19 point with poor shot selection and questionable defensive effort, they wouldn't have needed the comeback.

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Tiny Gallon breaks a backboard

Last night was New Year's Eve, and as is tradition, I spent the night consuming large quantities of beer, food, and alcohol. And singing this.

Safe to say, I was no where near a TV. Thankfully, I have TiVo, which means that I'm working off my Hangover by sitting on my couch, eating Chinese food, and boycotting the New Year's Day bowls by catching up on last night's games.

And as much as I appreciated USC's seventh straight win, or double OT out in Pullman, or Indiana toughing out a win over the Wolverines, the best part about last night came in Spokane Washington midway through the second half of Gonzaga's win over Oklahoma.

Tiny Gallon, who apparently made it a goal to prove the irony of his nickname, broke a back board.

And he didn't even finish the dunk.



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No. 15: 2009-2010 Team Preview: Oklahoma Sooners

2008-2009 Record: 30-6, 13-3 Big XII (2nd)

Key Losses: Blake Griffin (22.7 ppg, 14.4 rpg), Taylor Griffin (9.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Austin Johnson (8.6 ppg, 3.9 apg)

Key Returners: Willie Warren (14.6 ppg, 3.1 apg), Tony Crocker (9.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg)

Newcomers: Tommy Mason-Griffin, Steven Pledger, Andrew Fitzgerald, Ryan Randolph, Tiny Gallon, Kyle Hardrick

Willie Warren will need to pick up the scoring load with Blake Griffin gone.
(photo credit: SLAMOnline)

Oklahoma was not a deep team last season, as Jeff Capel rarely went with a rotation of more than seven players. That problem does not look like it is going to change this season, as the Sooners lost three starters and two more guys that became significant role players by the end of the year.

The biggest hole Capel is going to have to fill is up front, obviously. Not only did he lose the Brothers Griffin, but in May 6'6" forward Juan Pattillo, who was expected to come in and provide a lot of energy and minutes this season, was kicked off the team. That means that Capel is going to be forced to rely on three freshmen and two relatively inexperienced seniors in the paint. The best of the bunch will probably be Keith "Tiny" Gallon. Gallon, a freshman who is 6'9" and pushing 300 lb, is skilled for someone his size. He has quick feet, he can score with his back to the basket, he can handle the ball, and he has three point range. The problem right now is that he tends to float to the perimeter too much, especially when he doesn't see the ball enough. But if Gallon can get into better shape, he should get plenty of touches inside.

Freshman Andrew Fitzgerald is similar to Tiny in that he is a big-bodied 6'8" forward. Also lacking a bit in the athleticism department, Fitzgerald is going to push people around, rebound the ball, and rack up fouls on opposing big men. The third freshman, Kyle Hardrick, is going to be an effort guy. He played on a loaded high school team (with fellow Big XII newcomer Xavier Henry), and settled into a role of rebounder, screener, and defender. He is big and athletic, and if he plays hard, Capel will have to find time for him.

The two seniors are Ryan Wright and Orlando Allen. Wright was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school, but has never put it together. He is strong and athletic, however, so it will be interesting to see if he develops with time opening up in the front court. Allen is a 6'10" center who has battled weight issues in his two year in Norman.

The back court is less of a question mark. It will be anchored by potential all-american Willie Warren. Warren had a slow start to his freshman season, but really developed to the point that by the end of the year some thought he would have been a lottery pick had he left. He is best when he is looking for his shot, first and foremost. What makes him so dangerous is that he has NBA range on his three, but is just as effective in the mid-range. He is also one of the most athletic wings in the country and can finish above the rim with the best of them. While he has the handle and the passing ability to be a primary ball-handler (as he showed last season), Warren is a scorer and will excel playing off the ball.

Which is why landing Tommy Mason-Griffin was so important for Jeff Capel. Mason-Griffin is one of the most highly touted point guard recruits in the country. He is a bit small (listed at 5'10"), but he is quick enough to get into the lane against anyone, can knock down threes from NBA range, and most importantly he is a point guard; he will run the offense, find open players, and can learn a lot from Capel, a former point guard.

Joining Mason-Griffin and Warren on the perimeter will be senior Tony Crocker and junior Cade Davis. Crocker's numbers dipped a bit during his junior season, especially his three point percentages. He is really the only other guy on the Sooners that has any proven ability to score. If Oklahoma wants to remain near the top of the league, the Sooners need Crocker to be a 13-15 ppg guy. Davis is a shooter. He struggled with his confidence and his consistency during last season, but when he gets hot he is as good as anyone in the conference. Don't be surprised is freshman Steven Pledger and sophomore Ray Willis also see time.

Outlook: There are a lot of question marks on this OU team. Will their inexperienced big men be able to handle the Big XII? Will Tony Crocker show up this year? If Tommy Mason-Griffin ready to handle the point guard duties? With the amount of youth that is on this roster, I don't expect Oklahoma to start the year as one of the best teams in the country. But with this amount of talent, and one of the best players in the country, OU will be in the mix by the end of the season.
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Saturday Morning Shootaround: And The Elite 8 Is Set

The Elite 8 is set, and if anything has become clear during the last ten days, it is that the Big East was far and away the best conference in the country. Four teams from the conference have made the Elite 8 (along with two from the Big XII and one from both the Big XII and the ACC). With the tournament officially halfway done, half of the teams left are from the Big East.

Think about that for a second.

That is pretty impressive.

One Big East team is guaranteed to be in the Final Four (Pitt plays Villanova), but with the way that Louisville and UConn have looked, would it surprise anyone if three teams from the league reached the Final Four?

Didn't think so. Let's get into the night's Sweet 16 action.

Louisville 103, Arizona 64: The Cardinals showed how good they can be tonight. Take a look at some of these stats:

• 57.6% shooting from the field
• 14-29 from deep
• 29 assists on 38 field goals
• Committed 9 turnovers
  
• Held Zona to 38.6% shooting
• Got an offensive rebound on 11 of their 28 misses
  

That is just the beginning of it. They looked dominating defensively, making every pass and every shot difficult for the Wildcats. On the offensive end, crisp ball movement and beautiful passing led to open threes and lay-ups. And the Cardinals did not miss.

The Cards opened up a 17-9 lead early in the first half. After a quick 14-4 run, they took a 34-19 run with six minutes left in the half, and eventually went into the half ahead 49-28. The play that epitomized the day happens at the 1:00 mark in the following highlight clip:



T-Will grabs a defensive rebound, whips it around his back to avoid getting the ball stripped, then leads a fast break that results in an Earl Clark three from the corner.

Clark led the Cards with 19 points and 9 boards, T-Will added 14 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals, and Jerry Smith chipped in with 16 (13 in the first half). Chase Budinger has 22 for Zona, while Jordan Hill added 14 points and 11 boards.


Oklahoma 84, Syracuse 71: Syracuse just wasn't ready for the Sooners. Oklahoma jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead, and while they were able to get that lead down to one point on a couple occasions during the first half, Oklahoma pulled away at the end of the half before jumped on the Orange in the second half. By the time Syracuse decided to start playing, they were down 56-29 and the game was all but over.

Blake Griffin added a ho-hum 30 points and 14 rebounds, but he was not the star for the Sooners. That honor would go to Tony Crocker, who scored a career-high 28 points, hitting 6-11 threes. It was Crocker who hit a three at the end of the half (and scored 8 of the last 11 for the Sooners) as OU opened up a 39-26 halftime lead.

The biggest play in this game came with about a minute to go in the half. Blake Griffin was driving to the rim, and Jonny Flynn slid over to try and take a charge. It was called a block, and Griffin finished a three-point play to give the Sooners a 10 point lead. Flynn ended up with a bad bruise on his back, and did not get a chance to try and make a play on the ensuing Orange possession. Instead, Tony Crocker hit a three right before the buzzer to send the game into halftime. Instead of being down 33-26 with the ball, the Cuse had to head into the half down 13. They were never able to recover.

Flynn led the Orange with 22 points, the majority of came in the second half when the game was already out of reach.

Bonus dunk video: Blake Griffin showing off his insane athleticism by hitting his face (not the top of his head, his left cheek) on the back board on a dunk:




Michigan State 67, Kansas 62: The Spartans trailed Kansas 32-19 at one point in the first half, but that is when the MSU defense woke up. The Jayhawks committed 19 turnovers on the day, 10 of which came in the second half, as MSU was able to crawl all the way back and eventually take a lead late in the second half.

This one was billed as the Sherron Collins-Kalin Lucas show. For much of the game, it was a disappointment. Lucas struggled to find his shot, while Collins was hitting tough jumper after tough jumper.

That changed down the stretch. After Lucas found Raymar Morgan for a dunk that tied the game, Collins committed a costly turnover on an errant pass intended for Cole Aldrich. At the other end, Lucas drove by Collins, finishing in the paint and earning a three-point play. After the teams traded free throws, Collins was fouled on the perimeter with a chance to cut the lead to two, but he missed the front-end. Lucas would knock own two more free throws (he scored the last seven for the Spartans) and MSU would hang on to win.

This game also featured a good match-up inside as Cole Aldrich went toe-to-toe with Goran Suton. Aldrich ended the game with 17 points, 13 boards, 4 assists, and 4 blocks, but was not as much of a factor late (Kansas only scored two points in the paint in the second half). Suton was. He led MSU with 20 points, 9 boards, and 5 steals (just about all of which came by knocking away an entry pass).

This game also featured the funniest moment of the day. After MSU hit two free throws during the second half, Idong Ibok took the ball out of bounds under the MSU basket, while the Kansas players just stood there and looked at him.

UNC 98, Gonzaga 77: North Carolina looked absolutely dominant against Gonzaga in the first half, to the point where they were just about unstoppable offensively. The Heels put up 53 points, scoring in just about every way imaginable - on the break, on post-ups, on dribble penetration, by hitting threes, beautiful back court cuts for dunks (like the one Lawson threw to Green early in the first half.

There were two problems for Gonzaga last night. The first was that they absolutely could not get a stop. UNC was hitting everything they threw at the rim, and the only turned the ball over twice in the half. Gonzaga, on the other hand, committed four turnovers in the first six minutes, which led to 10 Tar Heels points. The Zags did go basket for basket with the Heels for a while, but the Heels were just too efficient.

The Heels were up 17 midway through the half, but a 10-2 Gonzaga run cut the deficit to 51-42. But, as they have always done, UNC answered. Hansbrough scored the last hoop of the first half, and then the Heels scored the first three buckets on the second half, pushing the lead back to 17 and taking the air out of Gonzaga's sails.

Ty Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half to help UNC open up the big lead. Hansbrough added 24 and 10 boards.
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Syracuse vs. Oklahoma Sweet 16 Preview

Why Oklahoma Can Win: Umm, have you followed college basketball this season? I'm going to say it is because they have the best player in the country suiting up for them in Blake Griffin. The guy averaged 22 and 14 on the season, and has stepped that up to 31 and 15 in the tournament this far. Bottom line, he is a beast. Next question.

Why Syracuse Can Win: They play zone. Playing this zone means that it is will be fairly easy for the Orange to swarm, collapse, surround, molest, and do anything else that they can to force Griffin to go up against two and three and even four defenders at a time. It is only more beneficial to the Orange that Willie Warren, Austin Johnson, and Tony Crocker have been inconsistent from beyond the arc this year. If Syracuse can slow down Griffin and/or the Oklahoma wings are not hitting their perimeter shots, the Orange will have an excellent opportunity to become the 4th/5th Big East team in the Elite 8.

Key To The Game: Eric Devendorf. You know who Oklahoma's 1-2 punch is. The Orange? Not so much. Syracuse is going to need someone outside of Flynn to rise to the occasion, make some shots, and create plays for some teammates. Devo is the guy. He is fast earning a reputation as a clutch shooter and a big game player, and the Orange are going to need the Devo from the ASU game to show up, not the Devo from the SFA game.

Sidenote: I cannot wait to watch Warren and Flynn square off. These two are both NBA players, and it should be exciting to watch them go at it. Believe it or not, this is the third best PG match-up on Friday.

BIAH Pick: We're going mild upset. Syracuse win.
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Thursday's Best

Yesterday, things really started to kick into full swing as we had full tournament days from every major conference. Here are some of the best from yesterday (UConn-Cuse excluded. We will get to that).

GAME OF THE DAY: Villanova 76, Marquette 75

The Wildcats were up 47-31 at the half, but Marquette came roaring back in the second half. The Eagles got it down to six before Corey Stokes went crazy. He scored 13 points in bout five minutes as Villanova pushed the lead back to twelve. But after a couple big three's from Mo Acker and a free throw from Jimmy Butler, the score was tied with two minutes to go. Scottie Reynolds made a driving lay-up, but Lazar Hayward answered with a three to put the Eagles up 75-74, their first lead since the beginning of the first half. After a couple empty possessions by either team, Marquette had the ball with 40 seconds left and a full shot clock. But Jerel McNeal inexplicably took a runner with about 15 seconds left, giving Villanova plenty of time to get a good look at the other end. Jay Wright didn't call a time out, but Acker completely face-guarded Reynolds. Redding got to the elbow, and it looked like he was going to have to force up a tough shot, but Jerel McNeal fell asleep defensively (ironically, he is the best perimeter defender in the league) and Dwayne Anderson found himself wide open under the rim for a lay-up at the buzzer.



That last Marquette possession is where they are going to miss Dom James the most. They can compete with teams simply because they still have a ton of talent, and Acker and David Cubillan are pretty good. But I guarantee that if James had the ball in his hand on the last possession, the Eagles would not have shot with 10 seconds on the shot clock.

There was another great finish yesterday as well, this time between UAB and Southern Miss. Paul Delaney of UAB drilled a three with 4.7 seconds left to force OT. In the extra frame, Courtney Beasley of USM made a jumper for a 73-72 lead, but Delaney took the ball the length of the court and hit a runner with 0.7 seconds left to win it for the Blazers.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Lewis Clinch, Georgia Tech

Is Georgia Tech the new Georgia? Clinch led the Yellow Jackets to an 86-81 win over #5 seeded Clemson in the ACC Tournament, scoring 32 points and grabbing 6 boards. Tech led by as much as 13 with under four minutes left in the game, but the Tigers made a run. They cut in the 84-81 on a three with 5 seconds left, but Clinch knocked down two free throws to ice it. The 32 points were a career high.

Lewis Clinch celebrates the Tech upset of Clemson

(photo credit: Dave Martin/AP)

They were good too: DeShawn Sims, Michigan - 27 pts; Earl Clark, Louisville - 24 pts, 10 rbs, 7 asts; James Harden, Arizona State - 27 pts, 8 rbs; Dexter Pittman, Texas - 19 pts, 20 rbs; Jeremy Wise, Southern Miss - 28 pts, 5 asts; Taj Gibson, USC - 21 pts, 16 rbs; Luke Babbitt, Nevada - 30 pts, 6 rbs; Stefon Jackson, UTEP - 38 pts; Marquez Haynes, UT-Arlington - 36 pts, 6 rbs; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 35 pts, 5 rbs.

TEAM OF THE DAY: The middle of the Big XII

Three teams in the Big XII had great days. Baylor built a 17 points lead against Kansas, but the Bears let the lead slip away, eventually falling behind 58-53. But LaceDarius Dunn would lead a run, scoring 8 in a 12-0 run that got the lead back. Dunn finished with 24 points. Baylor is one of the most disappointing teams in the country after collapsing during conference play, but a run through the Big XII tournament could erase all memories of their struggles. Baylor will play Texas today.

It won't be Kansas or Oklahoma this year
(photo credit: AP)

Oklahoma State might have already been in the dance, but they solidified that position by knocking off Oklahoma 71-70. James Anderson hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to win the game. Not only did the Pokes lock up a bid, but they all but ended the chances that Oklahoma gets a #1 seed. Blake Griffin had 17 points and 19 boards, but the undersized Cowboys help him to just nine shots from the floor, which is a commendable feat in itself. Byron Eaton led the Cowboys with 16 points and 7 dimes. OK State will take on Missouri today.

Texas also locked up a bid. They beat Kansas State 61-58, ending the Wildcat's hopes of earning a bid. Dexter Pittman had 19 points and 20 boards, and sealed the win with a three-point play giving Texas a 60-58 lead, then grabbing a rebound at the other end and hitting 1-2 free throws. Continue reading...

Can Oklahoma or North Carolina Stop A Talented Two-Guard?

Tyler Hansbrough of '08-'09 is not the same Psycho T that won player of the year in '07-'08. UNC has a ton of injuries and suspensions that have cut into their depth. Deon Thompson is not the same player that was he three months ago.

The Heels have a multitude of worries right now, but none of them should be Roy Williams' most pressing concern.

Blake Griffin is out with a concussion, and he may be out for a while longer. The Sooners offense is reduced the Willie Warren without the big fella roaming the paint. Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker are rendered almost useless without Griffin's interior presence to play off of.

But like the Heels, none of those should be Jeff Capel's biggest worry.

There is no arguing that these two teams are supremely talented. One is leading the ACC with four guys that could end up all-league, including possibly the player of the year in Ty Lawson. The other was leading the Big XII until the Griffin injury and has the favorite for national player of the year and a candidate for national freshman of the year. Both are considered near locks for a #1 seed come Selection Sunday.

But both teams face a serious obstacle in their quest to make a trip to Detroit for the Final Four: stopping a scoring point guard.

Take a look at some of these performances.

Jeff Teague torched Wayne Ellington and the Heels for 34 points
back in January.
(photo credit: Bruce Chapman/Winston-Salem Journal)

>
Against Oklahoma:

- Steph Curry had 44 in a 72-68 Oklahoma win (but if you remember Curry single-handedly brought Davidson back from 20 down in the last ten minutes).

- AJ Abrams scored 23 points, but more importantly had 18 of the 'Horn's last 20 as they came back to beat the Sooners 73-68.

- Sherron Collins had 26, including three huge three's down the stretch to help hold off a furious OU comeback.

- While he didn't put up the scoring numbers, Courtney Fortson had 12 points, 10 assists, and 8 boards as Arkansas upset the Sooners 96-88.

Against UNC:

- Jeff Teague went for 34 points in 92-89 Wake Forest win.

- Jack McClinton went for 35 in a 69-65 UNC win.

- Tyrese Rice went for 25 and 8 dimes in a 85-78 BC win.

- Toney Douglas went for 32 in a 80-77 UNC win.

- The most impressive of them all, Greivis Vazquez had 35, 10 boards, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in an 88-85 Maryland win in OT.

The question becomes why?

Why can't the Sooners or the Tar Heels stop a talented lead guard?

The answer is simple - neither team has a defensive stopper in their back court. Danny Green and Tony Crocker are both good defensively, but you can't put them on the opposing team's point guard when it would mean Warren/Johnson would have to match-up with the likes of Damion James, or Lawson/Ellington would have to guard a James Johnson.

So what is the answer? Personally, I would face guard the opposing player for 94 feet, doing everything I could to keep the ball out of his hands.

But that's just me.

Keep this in mind when you are filling out your brackets. If Oklahoma draws, say, Boston College in the second round, you may want to be on upset alert. Continue reading...

Tuesday Morning Shootaround: Kansas hangs on to beat Oklahoma 87-78

Despite Blake Griffin sitting out the game with a concussion, Oklahoma went on a 20-2 run early in the first half to open up a 22-8 lead over Kansas. Willie Warren, who finished with 23 points on the game, had 10 in the opening run. Kansas would respond with a run powered by their own freshman guard, scoring 16 straight points, 11 of which came from Tyshawn Taylor. It didn't stop there, as Kansas would eventually go on to out score Oklahoma 50-16 over a 20 minute stretch spanning the first and second halves.

That run opened up a 58-38 lead, but the Sooners would come back. Using a tough press while knocking down a number of three's, OU was able to get the lead down to three on two different occasions. But everytime the Sooners got close, Sherron Collins knocked down a big three. He hit three big three's in the second off, two of which came in a very exciting stretch: OU hit a three to cut the lead to three; Collins responded by knocking down a triple; on the next possession Warren hit a pull-up three from about 26 feet only to see Collins hit one from just as deep when Kansas had the ball.

Sherron Collins knocked down a number of big shots Monday.
(photo credit: Jack Dempsey/AP)

Collins did hit some big shots in this game, but I still have a bit of an issue with his decision making. He had a couple turnovers late against the Oklahoma pressure when he got out of control attacking the press. What you can't question is his heart. I don't think the three's he hit down the stretch were necessarily the shots Bill Self was looking for (all three were when Collins was isolated at the top of the key at the end of the shot clock, pulling up from well beyond the college arc off the dribble), but what matters is that Collins stepped up when his team needed it (and make no mistake, this is his team to lead). The fact that he was able to knock down a tough shot(s) in a clutch situation should say a lot to you about this kid as a leader.

I am really taking a liking to this Kansas squad. Collins is a leader and a playmaker. Cole Aldrich is as tough as anyone in the country on the block (he had 15 points, 20 boards, and 4 blocks in this one). Tyshawn Taylor provides a spark along side Collins, as he is more of a playmaker and distributor than Collins (although neither is a pure point, both are "combo" guards). The Morris twins provide some great size, athleticism, and hustle. Tyrell Reed and Brady Morningstar are both good defenders that can hit big shots and don't make mistakes offensively. But the biggest reason I like them is that the freshman are really starting to mature.

The question with this team in the preseason was how quickly can a team with one returner (two if you consider Aldrich's eight minutes of fame in the Final Four) develop the toughness and maturity that it takes to perform at this level. The answer has been, well, not too long. As long as Kansas relies on the leadership of Collins and the strength of Aldrich inside, the newcomers have enough talent to make the Jayhawks a threat come March.

One more thing about Kansas. This is the second game I have watched them play where they collapsed against pressure down the stretch. Remember Mizzou? While they were able to hang on in this one, they did lose to the Tigers. If I'm Bill Self, I'm figuring out a way to beat that pressure when Mizzou heads to Lawrence on March 4th.

As far as Oklahoma is concerned, I would not be too worried. For starters, they made a valiant comeback against a talented team without their best player (and the best player in the country). But I think in the long run this is going to be good for OU. It is a good possibility that Blake Griffin will have a game in the tournament where he gets in foul trouble. But now the Sooners know that they can hang with just about anyone in the country even if Blake Griffin is on the bench. Cade Davis and Juan Patillo played great, while Willie Warren picked up where he left off against Texas.

Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker both had subpar games. But more than anything, it is because those guys feed off of the ball going to Blake Griffin. Everyone marvels at Griffin's rebounding numbers and his soaring dunks, but no one realizes is how good of a passer he is. Oklahoma is able to run their offense through him because he is willing to kick to ball out to guys like Crocker and Johnson. In turn, those two either knock down jumpers or put the ball on the floor and blow past defenders closing out. But since neither is a phenomenal 1-on-1 player, they are much less successful when forced to square some one up and beat them off the dribble.

Georgetown's tournament chances are all but done after they lost to Louisville 76-58. The difference in this game was pretty obvious - Louisville hit open shots while Georgetown didn't. There is a lot that goes into this - the Hoyas stopped going inside-out with the ball, they couldn't stay in front of T-Will or Earl Clark on the perimeter, Louisville's outstanding ball pressure forced G'Town into difficult possessions - but the bottom line is that the Hoyas just didn't make shots when they had open looks and Louisville did (especially from deep, where they were 6-6 in the first half and 8-12 for the game).

Once again, Terrence Williams stuffed the stat sheet.
(photo credit: Nick Wass/AP)

Terrence Williams once again turned in a good all-around performance. It is weird watching him play. It didn't seem like he was into the game at all tonight, but when you look at the box score, he finished with 10 points, 12 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block. I think the reason is that he doesn't play a position where it is usual to be able to have a big effect on a game without scoring a point. PG's can do it, managing a game, doling out assists, and not turning the ball over. Big guys can do it, controlling the glass and changing shots. It isn't often you see a player doing both at the same time, but that is kind of what T-Will does.

Earl Clark also had a great game for the Cardinals, finishing with 22 points, 8 boards, 4 steals, and 3 assists. When the two forwards for the 'Ville are playing like they did tonight, it is going to be so difficult to beat them.

Louisville's pressure was a treat to watch in person. They are just so good in it. The four-headed combo of Andre McGee, Jerry Smith, Edgar Sosa, and Preston Knowles is going to wreak havoc on everyone come March. Combine that with a front line that is as big and rangy as Louisville's, and you have yourself a potent defensive team. Continue reading...

Monday Lay-up Lines: Big XII Showdown, but is Blake Griffin Playing?

Just two games of interest tonight. The first takes place in DC as Louisville (21-5, 12-2) takes on Georgetown (14-11, 5-9). This is a must win for the Hoyas. They have used up all of their margin for error, and essentially need to win out if they want to avoid an NIT trip. Louisville, on the other hand, is playing for seeding in both the Big East and the NCAA tournaments. The guy to watch in this game is Terrence Williams. I don't think anyone on Georgetown is a good match-up defensively for T-Will. Guys like Jason Clark and Jessie Sapp don't have the size or strength that Williams does, but I don't think Austin Freeman is quick enough to stay in front of him. Williams is the guy that Louisville runs their offense through, and I think that the Hoyas need to go zone tonight to slow him down.

I think the Hoyas match-up well with Louisville offensively, however. The Cardinals play a lot of zone, and Georgetown has a team that is built to beat a zone. Greg Monroe is a great passer and the Hoyas have a bunch of shooters around him.

The other game on tonight is in Norman as Oklahoma (25-2, 11-1) hosts Kansas (22-5, 11-1). The big question in this one is whether or not Blake Griffin will be suiting up. The big fella suffered a concussion on Saturday night against Texas, and while his MRI yesterday came back clean, it looks like it is going to be a game-time decision whether or not he will play (UPDATE: Blake Griffin is out for tonight). Oklahoma proved that they were still a good team without Griffin against Texas. Willie Warren had 27 points and carried the Sooners as they came back from 12 down early in the second half to take a five point lead. If AJ Abrams hadn't gone crazy down the stretch, OU would have won this thing.

Kansas is a much better team than they were getting credit for early in the season. Their 22-5 record and spot atop the Big XII standings prove that. They have a number of quality wins (Tennessee, Siena, Kansas State twice, Washington), but they are just now starting to reach their potential. You know about Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, but the biggest difference right now is the emergence of the Morris twins. Neither twin is an incredible scorer, but they are long and athletic, and when they are playing with energy can really make a difference defensively and on the glass.

Clearly, the biggest x-factor in this game will be whether or not Griffin plays, but if he doesn't, OU is going to need another big performance out of Willie Warren is they hope to hold on to first in the Big XII. Continue reading...

College Hoops BlogPoll Roundtable

BIAH is a voting member of the CBS Sport's College Hoops BlogPoll, and as such we have been asked to participate in their College Hoops roundtable. Each week, a different blog will host and ask a number of questions to be answered by each voting member. This week it is A Sea of Blue, so be sure to stop over there and take a look at some of the other blog's answers.

Who really looks like the best team in college basketball this season?

At this point, barring a major collapse, it is pretty much a done deal that UConn, Pitt, Oklahoma, and UNC are going to be the four #1 seeds come March 15th meaning that these are the consensus best four teams in America right now. Assuming that "best" means "most likely to win the national title", I'm going to go with Oklahoma. UConn just isn't the same team without Jerome Dyson. DeJuan Blair is a load on the block, but I just don't see him being able to stay out of foul trouble for six straight games, especially with the tighter whistles that are par for the course come March. UNC doesn't play enough defense on a consistent basis (how did they gave up 91 to Maryland and 80 to NC State?). Oklahoma has the best player in the country in Blake Griffin, has developed their bench to the point where it is almost a strength, and is getting exceptional seasons out of Austin Johnson and Willie Warren. I really think Griffin is good enough to put this team on his shoulders and carry them to a title a la Carmelo circa 2003.

Is Blake Griffin the Player of the Year already, or can somebody catch him?

The only way Griffin doesn't get player of the year is if someone like Jodie Meeks or James Harden goes on a tear, averages 40 a game for the rest of the season, and carries their team to a regular season conference title. Other wise, it is tough to argue against him. He is the best player (by far) on what will likely be the #1 team in the country come Monday. He has put up some absurd numbers this year (23 and 14 on 64% shooting).

What currently ranked team is the biggest disappointment so far this year?

The "currently ranked" part makes this one tricky because Georgetown, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and the like have been ... how do I say this ... a joke this year. I'm going to go with Gonzaga and Syracuse. A lot of people have been saying UCLA or Michigan State, but the Bruins are extremely young and thus growing pains are to be expected, while the Spartans have yet to play at full strength for an extended period of time. Syracuse and Gonzaga have two of the most talented rosters in the country, but just seem to be devoid of consistency. Syracuse seems unable to start a game with any form of intensity while Gonzaga can't seem to figure out a way to play together. I've said this before, but I believe effort and teamwork to be coached, which means that the blame should fall on the shoulders of Mark Few and Jim Boeheim for not finding answers. So what is the answer? Well, honestly, I don't know. If I did, I'd be making Arab Bill Self money.

Predict the next team to beat Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has three games left on their schedule that are losable (is that even a word?): at Texas, Kansas at home, and at Mizzou. Texas has the size too match up with the Sooners, but the last time the two met up, Oklahoma won by 15. I don't see Kansas going into Norman on Big Monday and beating OU either. That leaves at Missouri. My prediction? The Tiger press is too much for Austin Johnson and Willie Warren, and despite 30 and 15 from Griffin, Mizzou knocks off the Sooners by forcing 20-some turnovers. Continue reading...

Who's #1?

Yesterday's edition of the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls both have Duke sitting pretty at #1, with the UConn Huskies coming in a distant second - Duke got 62 first place votes to UConn's six in the AP poll, and the Blue Devils received 30 of the 31 first place votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Call me a UConn homer, call me a Duke hater, I don't care - is Duke really that much better than UConn? Or fellow one loss teams Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Pitt?

According to the RPI, yes (all RPI numbers are taken from RealTimeRPI). Duke, Pitt, and Oklahoma are 1, 2, 3 in the RPI, with UConn sitting at 6 and Wake Forest at 12.

Duke is 7-1 against the RPI top 50, with their wins coming against Xavier (4), Georgetown (13), at Florida State (17), Virginia Tech (32), Davidson (37), at Purdue (39), and Michigan (47), who doubles as the only team to beat them.

UConn is 4-1 against the RPI top 50, with wins at West Virginia (18), against Wisconsin (22), Villanova (26), and Miami (38), losing to Georgetown (13). But UConn also owns wins against Gonzaga (51) and at Notre Dame (75), two teams that are talented but have hit a rough patch during the season.

In fact, UConn has beaten six teams that were ranked at the time they played them, the most in college basketball.

So what does all that mean? It looks like, based on the numbers, that both the voters and the computers got it right. Duke does have a better resume than the Huskies, although I think it is much closer than the polls would lead you to believe.

But the RPI numbers don't always tell the whole story.

The way I see it, you can rank teams two different ways. The first is based on their performance, the resume of wins they have put together. The other is to breakdown the teams - the players, the coaches, the style of play - and decide subjectively who you believe is a better team. The first is a clear cut, objective ranking system, while the second is influenced much more by opinions and biases.

So I ask you, if Duke played UConn on a neutral court, who would win?

To be honest, no matter where the game is played, I don't see any way UConn beats Duke.

The Huskies struggle against teams with a big man that can step out and play the perimeter. See Georgetown and Greg Monroe. Why? Because Hasheem Thabeet cannot guard anyone on the perimeter, and he is not enough of an offensive threat to take advantage of the mismatch on the other end.

UConn has been playing some zone of late, as teams have begun to figure out what kind of offense to run against the Huskies. But do you think that Jim Calhoun, a coach that prides himself on his team's rugged man-to-man defense, will switch to (let alone effectively coach) a zone defense, especially when you consider how good of a team Duke is offensively (sixth most efficient according to Kenpom).

So Duke is the best team in the country then, right?

Not so fast.

Pitt is second in the RPI and 5-1 against the RPI top 20, with wins over Florida State (17), Siena (20), Georgetown (13), Syracuse (16), and West Virginia (18), their only loss coming to Louisville, who may deserve to be in this conversation as well (more on that in a bit). Pitt is, physically, the toughest team in the country, and there may not be someone harder to keep off of the offensive glass than DeJuan Blair. The development of Jermaine Dixon as a scorer has made this Pitt team even more balanced and dangerous.

Oklahoma, third in the RPI, is 8-0 against the RPI top 50, with wins against Purdue (39), Texas (23), Baylor (24), and Utah (25). They also have Blake Griffin, the most dominant big man in the country, a back court (Austin Johnson and Willie Warren) that is emerging as one of the best in the Big XII, and a bench that is slowly turning from a weakness to a strength with the development of Omar Leary and the return of Juan Pattillo.

Wake Forest is 12th in the RPI, but they have three of the best wins out of this entire group - beating UNC and winning at Clemson and at BYU (which is a much tougher place to play than you think - 22,000 screaming mormons is enough to rattle anyone). With Jeff Teague and arguably the best frontline in the country, Wake has proven they can beat anyone, anywhere (except Va Tech at home, apparently).

And that only includes the one loss teams. UNC was the favorite up until their two losses to start the ACC, but after blow out wins over Miami FL and Clemson, they look to be back on track. Louisville may actually be the hottest team in the country right now, with seven straight wins, including victories against Villanova, Notre Dame, Pitt (the only team to beat the Panthers), and Syracuse in the last two weeks. Michigan State is rolling again. Marquette is leading the Big East.

So does Duke deserve their #1 ranking?

Probably.

Are they the best team in the country?

Possibly.

What does it all tell us?

Contrary to what many people (including this guy) had been saying earlier in the season, it is wide open this year. If my analysis didn't convince you, maybe this will - in the last three weeks, three different teams have been number one. And if Wake can beat Duke tomorrow night at home, it will be four in four weeks.

March is going to be a lot of fun this year. Continue reading...