Player of the Year

Today I got my SI for the week. A special shout out to the USPS for deliverying it four days late. Anywho, the cover proclaims Tyler Hansbrough as the POY this year. What a crock. No disrespect to Mr. Hansbrough, who is a great player, but let's compare him to Kansas State's Michael Beasley:

PPG: Beasley 26.5 v 23.1
REB: Beasley 12.5 v 10.5
AST: Beasley 1.2 v 0.9
STL: Hansbrough 1.5 v 1.3
BLK: Beasley 1.7 to 0.3
FG%: Hansbrough .543 v .539
FT%: Hansbrough .813 v .770
3P%: Beasley .395 to .000

In the categories that Beasley wins, he dominates. When Hansbrough wins the comparison, it's by a whisker, with the exception of FT%. When you look at other aspects, North Carolina scores more per game, but Tyler scores less. North Carolina rebounds better, but Tyler rebounds less. Beasley, at 6-10, accounts for almost 1/2 his team's blocked shots. Hansbrough, at 6-9, accounts for less than 10%.

Another component to consider is the team around him. Beasley has Bill Walker as a fellow Rivals 150 top recruit on the Wildcat roster. Hansbrough has 9 other top 150 recruits alongside him. Aside from Beasley, two other Wildcats average double digits. The Tarheels have 3 others averaging 12 points or more.

People mention the intangibles that Hansbrough brings to the team. I don't doubt his attitude, his grit, his effort. Conversely, it's not like Beasley is Stephon Marbury. I've watched a few games and he's a terrific competitor and you don't see him showing up his teammates or anything.

When playing Kansas State plays, you know you have to stop Beasley, and probably Walker. When playing UNC, you have to stop Hansbrough, Ellington, Lawson and Green.

I could probably go on, but I'd be spending more time on a foe's player. I've just been really impressed by Beasley. If we spend too much time praising opponents instead of making fun of them, it just not riiiight.

Tourney Preview Update, Monday evening

• In the WCC, San Diego upset Gonzaga for the automatic bid there. San Diego just knocked someone off the bubble. It could have been fellow WCC team St. Mary's
• Davidson held serve, winning the Southern Conference final.
• In the Summit, Oral Roberts and IUPUI advanced to the final, where they'll play for the lone bid in the conference.
• In spite of being outnumbered 2-1, George Mason defeated William and Mary to advance to the NCAA.
• Siena defeated Rider to win the MAAC.
• Middle Tennessee State upset South Alabama to advance to the Sun Belt Championship against Western Kentucky. The South Alabama Jaguars have never recovered from Terry Catledge's departure in 1985. South Alabama is 26-6 and may have just burst someone else's bubble.

IMO, South Alabama's loss and San Diego's upset W over Gonzaga burst the bubbles of two of the three: Arizona State; Illinois State and St. Mary's.

LandThieves NCAA Tourney Preview

My favorite time of the year is here. Here is my analysis of the Championship Week and likely entrants into the NCAA tourney. Number of teams making it in is in parenthesis.

• America East (1) - the winner of the UMBC - Hartford game next Saturday will be the lone entrant from this league. The two teams have split their games this year, with each home team winning by a point.
• Atlantic 10 - (2) Joe Lunardi, ESPN's Bracketologist, has two teams from the A-10. Xavier at 26-5 seems to be a lock whether they win the tourney or not, and Temple or Mass will be the other one in from this conference.
• ACC - (5) I think 5 teams from the ACC make it in. North Carolina, Duke, Clemson and Virginia Tech all have over 500 records in conference. Miami FL has a 21-9 record and 8-8 in conference, and is also in.
• Atlantic Sun (1) - Belmont is in as conference champ. The next best team is 18-13 Jacksonville, which has never recovered from Artis Gilmore's departure, and won't be returning to the big dance this year.
• Big 12 (6) - Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma are safely in, as are Baylor and Texas A&M.
• Big East (8) - the Big East is likely to get 8 teams in; Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, West Virginia and Pitt. Villanova and Syracuse, 19 win teams with a 9-9 conference record, may work their way in this week with a solid showing in the Big East tourney.
• Big Sky (1) - Portland State is the #1 seed in the Big Sky tourney, which concludes Wednesday. They will not have two teams in the tourney.
• Big South (1) - Winthrop is the conference champ. Winthrop may cause some folks some trouble in the tourney, as they play competitive games against several large teams this year, including West Virginia, Baylor and Ole Miss. They tied for first in the regular season with UNC Asheville. UNCA is 23-9, but unlikely to sneak in for one of the at large bids.
• Big Ten (4) - Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue are in. A recent 4 game losing streak by Ohio State likely keeps them out. No to mention the exhibition lost to Findlay.
• Big West (1) - the Big West has an interesting tourney setup. The 3 and 4 teams get a bye, but the 1 and 2 teams get another bye into the semifinals. UC Santa Barbara is the #1 seed, and 4 teams have single digit losses headed into the tourney. It's still unlikely that more than 1 team makes it from this league.
• Colonial (1) - William & Mary takes on George Mason Monday night to determine the champ from this league. Regular season champ Virginia Commonwealth has an outside chance at an at large bid.
• Conf USA (1) - Memphis is a lock. Joe Lunardi is projecting one other from this conference, but I don't think that will happen, unless UAB or Houston wins the conf tourney.
• Horizon (1) - Number 1 seed Butler, 28-3 on the year, takes on Cleveland State Tuesday night for the championship. Cleveland State needs to win to be in. Butler will make it in either way.
• Ivy (1) - Cornell went undefeated in Ivy League play this year, and their five losses were to Duke, Syracuse, Ohio, Bucknell and Colgate. Perennial Ivy League power Penn was down this year, and noone else will make the big dance.
• MAAC (1) - 22-9 Rider plays 21-10 Siena Monday night for a ticket to the dance. Only one will make it in.
• MAC (1) - Kent State is your #1 seed headed into the MAC tourney. The champ will make it, but it's tough to see other teams making it from this conference this year.
• MEAC (1) - Morgan State heads into the MEAC tourney as the #1 seed. This is another single bid league, and Hampton is your next best team in the conference.
• Missouri Valley (2) - Drake - Drake had three losses in conference by a total of seven points, and a non conference loss on the road at St Mary's. I think they will make some noise in the tourney; Illinois State - fear the Redbirds. ISU's nine losses are to Drake (3x), Indiana, Kansas State, Bradley, Northern Iowa, Indiana State, and Eastern Maryland. The only home loss was to Drake.
• Mountain West (3) - BYU, UNLV and New Mexico are all likely to make it in, barring a collapse in the MWC tourney.
• Northeast (1) - Mount St. Mary's plays Sacred Heart on Wednesday for this league's championship and the right to be a 16 seed in the big dance.
• Ohio Valley (1) - Austin Peay is in. I see the Governors as being one and done. They lost to juggernauts Tennesee Tech and Samford during the year. The next best team in the OVC is Murray State Racers, who have recovered somewhat from Popeye Jones departure, but they aren't making it to the dance this year.
• Pac 10 (7) - this is the best conference in the country this year. Stanford, UCLA, Washington State and USC should all be in. Arizona is 17-13, but has played the nation's toughest schedule, but has a below 500 conference record and may make it in anyway. Oregon has also played a top 5 slate this year and will make it in as a double digit loss at large bid. Arizona State finished 500 in the league, but had a much easier non conference schedule.
• Patriot League (1) - Bucknell or Holy Cross usually represent the league and make some noise in mid-March, but not this year. #1 seed American plays #3 seed Colgate on Friday for this league's bid.
• SEC (4-5) - Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are in. Kentucky has won 12 of 13 and also will be in. Arkansas is on the proverbial bubble.
• Southern (1) - Davidson went 20-0 in conference and should be in regardless. The final on Monday night pits Davidson against Elon, who went 9-11 in conference play.
• Southland (1) - Stephen F Austin is the top team in the leauge. Lamar - previous coaching stop of Billy Tubbs - is the other top team in the league, but only the postseason champ will make it.
• Summit (1) - IUPUI and Oral Roberts are the cream of the crop here, but only one is going to make it through.
• SunBelt (1) - South Alabama and Western Kentucky finished the season 16-2 in league play. Those teams have made the semifinals. Only one team makes it in this league.
• SWAC (1) - The Alabama State Hornets are the #1 team headed into the conference tourney.
• WAC (1) - the WAC is down this year and is a single bid league. Boise State, Nevada, Utah State and New Mexico State tied for first in the regular season, but only one will make it.
• West Coast (2-3) - Gonzaga and St. Mary's are locks from this league. Barring a run by tourney host San Diego which just made it to the WCC finals, they will be the only two from the WCC.

Sweep!

I was looking for an image of a broom and came across this image. I decided I liked it better.

The Sooners went north sans Blake

A road win they hoped to make

Crocker drained some threes

The game was a breeze

T-Boone may give Sean a long break.

Worst 10 NCAA Sooner Losses

LTP is not feeling very confident about the game against St. Joe's later this week. I decided I would break down the worst 10 lNCAA tourney losses in Sooner history. We don't go past 1984 for these losses, primarily because if the Sooners made it into the tourney pre-1984, it was a bonus.

1. 1995 - the 4th seeded Sooners lose 77-67 in the first round to the Manhattan Jaspars, coached by Fran Fraschilla. Fran parlays the victory into a payday at St. John's University, a little probation, and a job at ESPN.
2. 2001 - the 4th seeded Sooners lose in OT, 70-68, to the 13th seeded Indiana State Sycamores.
3. 2006 - the 6th seeded Sooners lose to the 11th seeded University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers 82-74. The Sooners never led.
4. 1984 - the 2nd seeded Sooners lost to the Roosevelt Chapman led Dayton Flyers, a 10 seed, 89-85. This one hurt at the time, but was masked somewhat by two things: a) Dayton continuing on to the Elite 8 before losing to eventual champion Georgetown; b) the Sooners were still new to the tourney play, as it was their fourth appearance in forty years.
5. 1986 - the 4th seeded Sooners lose to the 12th seeded Depaul Blue Demons. Depaul was led that year by Tyrone Corbin and Dallas Comegys.
6. 1992 - the 4th seeded Sooners lose to 13th seeded Louisiana-Lafayette. I have no recollection of this game to provide insight on.
7. 2005 - the 3rd seeded Sooners lose to the 6th seeded Utah Utes, led by Andrew Bogut.
8. 1996 - the Sooners, as a 10 seed, lay a complete egg against 7th seeded Temple, losing 43-61.
9. 1990 - As a #1 seed, the Sooners fall to 8th seeded North Carolina, giving up a huge baseline basket to Rick Fox at the end of the game to lose.
10. 1999 - 13th seeded Sooners lose to top seed Michigan State, 54-46. This was the big ugly game when Izzo's Spartans and Sampson's Sooners wrestled to 54-46 decision.

My criteria for this evaluation were two factors: 1) losing to a much lower seed; 2) scoring an unusually low number of points. For example, the loss to Kansas in 1988 hurt as we were favored, but it was a loss to a national champion, it's nothing like being embarrassed by Louisiana-Lafayette or Manhattan.

Lift Yourself Up by Tearing Others Down

Staggering from the news of Blake Griffin's knee surgery, and with spring footbal practice starting this week, I needed something to pick me up today.

Tubbs Loses Consciousness during Game

Former Sooner Coach Billy Tubbs drfited in and out of sleep today during the OU-TAMU basketball game, in which the 1988 Sooners were saluted for their success and lofty place in Sooner basketball history.


Asked later about the catnaps, Coach Tubbs said, "look, those teams were awful today. At one point NEITHER TEAM SCORED FOR FIVE MINUTES. Do you know how many times my teams played in Norman in games that had fewer points than the 101 scored today. Once! One !#$! time in 14 fourteen years. And they have to roll this piece of crap game out for me to watch.


"I give Coach Capel some slack, the cupboard's not exactly stocked right now, and they've been hampered by injuries and academics, but that's just ugly basketball. I don't know why they can't just pick up the pace. You can shoot an off-balance three with thirty seconds left on the clock with the same degree of success as with three seconds n the clock."

For more coverage of the game from the Aggie side of the locker room, check out Reveille's analysis at http://reveillevii.blogspot.com/2008/03/im-going-to-go-lick-myself.html