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| Baseball players and fans should expect to bundle up in many parts of the country for this year's Opening Day. |
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| CC Sabathia expects the Yankees to be holding up the trophy in 2011. |
You know, CC? He might be right....or not.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Opening Day!
You know, CC? He might be right....or not.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Quick Hits #3
V-C-told-U-so: VCU has reached the Final Four as an 11 seed after upsetting "power conference" foes USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas along the way. VCU, George Mason (2006), and LSU (1986) are the only teams to ever advance to the Final Four as an 11 seed. Incredible. When the brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday, many experts questioned the Selection Committee's decision to include VCU and UAB in the 68-team field because they felt that many other teams were more deserving based upon their regular season and conference tournament performance.
VCU's inclusion in the tournament was questioned because they had lost 7 conference games in a sub-par conference, including a home game to lowly James Madison, and had a much lower RPI than other teams that were left out of the tournament. Many have suggested that because VCU has now made the Final Four, then they must have been deserving of being included in the tournament from the beginning. I wholeheartedly disagree. Such a rationale would make no sense given that the Selection Committee's job is to select the tournament teams based upon their resume and previous performance, not to project how a team would perform in the tournament. Does VCU deserve to be in the tournament simply because they have won 5 games in a row? Absolutely not. If that is the case, then teams such as Louisville and Vanderbilt (who both lost their first games to lower-seeded teams) should not have been included in the tournament either. Good for VCU, but saying that they have validated their inclusion in the tournament would be taking the easy way out.
Let The Jimmer Simmer: Meanwhile, the debate continues about players that have already exited the tournament - will Jimmer be a good pro? Many will continue to debate Jimmer's professional abilities leading up to the draft and even throughout Jimmer's career. But why are so many people so adamant and passionate about this topic? Because there is no debating the fact that he is one of the best collegiate basketball players in recent memory. We should all stop being so concerned about how good a pro he may or may not be.
Will his success or failure in the NBA take away from his outstanding college career and all the excitement he created not only at BYU but throughout college basketball? It shouldn't. Instead of being so focused on hypothetical situations and what he may not be, let's stop and appreciate some of the fantastic things he accomplished as a collegiate player: Fredette led the nation in scoring with 28.9 points per game, averaged 32.7 points per game in the NCAA tournament, led BYU with 4.3 assists per game, shot 40% from three-point "Jimmer" range, shot 89% from the free throw line, shattered the BYU career scoring mark after scoring a mind-boggling 1,068 points this season. Even more important: Jimmer is a winner. He leaves BYU as the all-time leader in team wins as a player. Certain writers in the media may not appreciate Jimmer, but he has already been selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy which is presented annually to the National Player of the Year as selected by the writers. By the way, Rick Reilly is not considered a Basketball Writer by the USBWA or Dan Patrick. That is worth a listen!
Ochocinco Soccer Situation: With the NFL Lockout now in its third week with no end in sight, it appears that NFL players, including Chad Ochocinco, are bored and need something to do. Chad Ochocinco, who has successfully kicked an extra point in a recent NFL game, recently went through a five-day tryout with the MLS team, Sporting Kansas City. Ochocinco, who played soccer in high school, practiced with the team, played in a reserve game this weekend, and has been awarded an honorary reserve spot on the team. Ochocinco will not be paid for practicing with the team (which is only a little less than what an MLS player actually gets paid), but he is excited about his new-found job:
"This is so awesome I'm an honorary member of SportingKC and can train with the reserve team as long as I want," Ochocinco said in a tweet. "Totally awesome ILuvKC."
Does anyone else now want to see David Beckham take a hit by Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Ray Lewis, or is that just me? At least Ochocinco is as they say "staying out of trouble", which is more than can be said for Dallas Cowboys' receiver Dez Bryant.
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| VCU could be the national champion even though they should have never been given a shot to get to the Final Four. |
Let The Jimmer Simmer: Meanwhile, the debate continues about players that have already exited the tournament - will Jimmer be a good pro? Many will continue to debate Jimmer's professional abilities leading up to the draft and even throughout Jimmer's career. But why are so many people so adamant and passionate about this topic? Because there is no debating the fact that he is one of the best collegiate basketball players in recent memory. We should all stop being so concerned about how good a pro he may or may not be.
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| Jimmer Fredette excited the entire college basketball world this year with his ability to score and lead BYU to wins. |
Ochocinco Soccer Situation: With the NFL Lockout now in its third week with no end in sight, it appears that NFL players, including Chad Ochocinco, are bored and need something to do. Chad Ochocinco, who has successfully kicked an extra point in a recent NFL game, recently went through a five-day tryout with the MLS team, Sporting Kansas City. Ochocinco, who played soccer in high school, practiced with the team, played in a reserve game this weekend, and has been awarded an honorary reserve spot on the team. Ochocinco will not be paid for practicing with the team (which is only a little less than what an MLS player actually gets paid), but he is excited about his new-found job:
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| Ochocinco is just kickin' it during the NFL lockout. |
"This is so awesome I'm an honorary member of SportingKC and can train with the reserve team as long as I want," Ochocinco said in a tweet. "Totally awesome ILuvKC."
Does anyone else now want to see David Beckham take a hit by Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Ray Lewis, or is that just me? At least Ochocinco is as they say "staying out of trouble", which is more than can be said for Dallas Cowboys' receiver Dez Bryant.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Jimmer, You've Been Reilly'd!
I have spent the last four days in New Orleans watching BYU lose an overtime thriller to Florida, witnessing Butler make yet another run to the Final Four despite being seeded 8 in the Southeast bracket, and - according to Rick Reilly - sinning just by osmosis.
I find many of Rick Reilly's articles to be witty and entertaining, but little did I know that much of that wit may actually be masking his ability to effectively communicate and support his biased opinion. Rick Reilly has been a full-fledged BYU hater since at least 2001 when he wrote here (with many inaccuracies) about how BYU's older football players gave them a distinct advantage over the younger, and therefore less talented, smaller, and weaker opposing players. I have always found this argument to be rather amusing because although BYU was 9-0 in 2001 when Reilly wrote the article, no one ever made this argument from 2002-2004 when the Gary Crowton-led Cougars would amass a 13-25 record. BYU magically went from an NFL-ready team in 2001 to a Geriatrics ward in 2002.
In Reilly's most recent religious jab at BYU and Mormonism, he wrote here about Jimmer Fredette's last collegiate game and Jimmer's inability to be a star performer at the next level in the NBA simply based on his performance against the Gators, while also throwing darts at Jimmer's religion. I'm sure Jimmer would be the first to tell you that he did not play his best on either end of the floor against Florida, which was one of the reasons why he and the "pizza delivery guys" came up short in the Sweet 16. Over time, Jimmer will have the opportunity to disprove Reilly's contention that he will be an ineffective NBA player, but my bigger issue with Reilly is the way he hides behind his magic curtain by not allowing comments to be posted at the end of his articles, thus preventing his readers from publicly sharing their own opinions or providing a forum to disprove his conclusions based on actual facts, forcing many readers, including Ryan J., to post their opinions here. During the past couple of days many have come to Jimmer's defense (including to the defense of his Mormon religion) such as here and here. Good stuff.
Clearly, Rick Reilly didn't have the mtn (but of course who does?) during the basketball season and based his arguments on the 30-second SportsCenter highlights he saw throughout the year leading up to the Florida game. As Ryan J. pointed out in his "Letter to Reilly", Rick Reilly evaluated Jimmer's potential as an NBA player based upon a single performance in which he still scored 32 points. Personally, I would have loved to have read Rick Reilly's article criticizing Kobe Bryant's capabilities as an NBA player when he shot 6-23, including 0-6 from three-point range, turned the ball over 4 times, and only scored 23 points (well below his average) in Game 7 of the NBA Finals! Lucky for Kobe, his own "pizza delivery" buddy, Ron Artest, saved Kobe and his beloved Lakers from a loss to the rival Celtics on basketball's biggest stage by scoring 20 points and nailing a three-pointer in the final seconds to seal the NBA Championship.
Jimmer will be the first to tell you that although he has been voted an AP All-American and is the favorite to win the Naismith Award (College Basketball's Heisman Trophy) this weekend, he has a lot to work on in order to translate his talents and skills to the next level. He has been there before. He was a good Freshman when he came to BYU, but he worked hard to achieve All-American status during the past four years and will likely be a lottery pick in June's NBA draft. As Rick Reilly so eloquently pointed out, Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook said, "I know from just watching (Jimmer Fredette) he's going to be a great NBA player." Reilly's second-grade response to Westbrook's analysis: "No! No he isn't!" Thanks, Ricky, but I'm going to go with the All-Star basketball player's opinion when evaluating Jimmer's potential as an NBA player, not an established "funny-guy" and long-time BYU-hater.
Which makes me wonder: Which side of the argument would Rick Reilly have taken if Jimmer had gone on a mission?
Maybe we would have seen that Kobe article after all...
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| Rick Reilly has been voted National Sportswriter of the Year 11 times, but he is not a fan of Jimmermania. |
In Reilly's most recent religious jab at BYU and Mormonism, he wrote here about Jimmer Fredette's last collegiate game and Jimmer's inability to be a star performer at the next level in the NBA simply based on his performance against the Gators, while also throwing darts at Jimmer's religion. I'm sure Jimmer would be the first to tell you that he did not play his best on either end of the floor against Florida, which was one of the reasons why he and the "pizza delivery guys" came up short in the Sweet 16. Over time, Jimmer will have the opportunity to disprove Reilly's contention that he will be an ineffective NBA player, but my bigger issue with Reilly is the way he hides behind his magic curtain by not allowing comments to be posted at the end of his articles, thus preventing his readers from publicly sharing their own opinions or providing a forum to disprove his conclusions based on actual facts, forcing many readers, including Ryan J., to post their opinions here. During the past couple of days many have come to Jimmer's defense (including to the defense of his Mormon religion) such as here and here. Good stuff.
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| No doubt Reilly missed out on Jimmer's spectacular 42-point performance on the road against Colorado State on January 22, 2011. |
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| Kobe is relieved that no one judged his ability to play in the NBA based upon a single-game performance. |
Which makes me wonder: Which side of the argument would Rick Reilly have taken if Jimmer had gone on a mission?
Maybe we would have seen that Kobe article after all...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Quick Hits #2
The first version of Quick Hits may have been too "basketball-heavy", but so is my life during the month of March so here are only a couple more March Madness-related items followed by some other noteworthy sports headlines:
Big L-"East": The Big East Conference set a record this year with 11 teams in its 16-team conference getting invited to the 68-team tournament. The Big East snatched up 10 of the 37 "at-large" bids (27%), yet only 2 of the 11 teams remain in the tournament after 2 rounds of play - as many teams as the Big Ten, the Mountain West, and the City of Richmond, Virginia!
Big L-"East": The Big East Conference set a record this year with 11 teams in its 16-team conference getting invited to the 68-team tournament. The Big East snatched up 10 of the 37 "at-large" bids (27%), yet only 2 of the 11 teams remain in the tournament after 2 rounds of play - as many teams as the Big Ten, the Mountain West, and the City of Richmond, Virginia!
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| VCU is one of the two teams from Richmond Virginia enjoying the "sweetness" of the NCAA Tournament |
The NB-Who?: By the way, has there even been a single NBA highlight on SportsCenter during the past week? Apparently during March Madness people pay attention to the NBA just about as much as the NBA players pay attention to playing defense before the playoffs.
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| Mario Lemieux may now be regretting his demands for higher punishment for physical play after Cook's suspension. |
Irony on Ice: Last month, the owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, Mario Lemieux, lashed out at the NHL for what he perceived to be an insufficient amount of discipline and punishment following a brawl-filled game between his Penguins and the NY Islanders. Last week, Lemieux proposed tougher suspensions for players that cross the line and inflict unnecessary roughness on other players during games - even suggesting that the teams be fined for the player's conduct. This week, after elbowing an opponent in the head, one of Mario Lemieux's key players (Matt Cooke) was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. Mario? Any comment now?
Bonds on Trial: The Barry Bonds perjury trial began on Monday in San Francisco. You can read the riveting recap of Tuesday's proceedings of this century's "trial of the century" in California here. Barry Bonds is on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs...or eat his teammates' garlic fries. It's also interesting to note the list of Bonds' perjury trial jurors in the ESPN link above, which has led to the key question that everyone in this perjury trial wants to have answered: "Juror 21, how exactly did you manage to become a retired cashier without committing perjury yourself or slipping at least a $100 bill in your pocket at the end of every shift?!"
Monday, March 21, 2011
Quick Hits #1
Madness, Madness, and More Madness!: The tournament started with a tremendous bang! on Thursday when three of the first four games on Thursday afternoon were decided on the game's final possession - Butler, Morehead St., and Temple all won on buzzer-beaters. The Madness was off to a pretty good start.
Don't Miss It!: In February, I wrote about the fact that you could watch every game in its entirety due to the NCAA's new TV deal with CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV, but the real thing was even better than I could have imagined. Although I admittedly did catch the buzzer-beaters mentioned above on my phone while I was at work, you could find which channel had which game on as well as the scores and time remaining so you could jump over and catch a key moment of any other game. I'm not the only one who agreed: TV ratings were up 16% when compared to last year. On a related note, the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is also going on right now and can be found on ESPN3.com and ESPNTitleIX.com.
Sorry Mr. President, the Game is on: While Pres. Obama addressed the nation on Thursday assuring the country that harmful levels of radiation were not expected to reach the United States, CBS did not cut away to hear him live as the other major networks did. Instead, CBS summarized his report in a 60-second clip during a game's commercial break. On Friday, when Obama addressed the country regarding potential military action against Libya, CBS ran a split screen, with audio of Obama and his picture on top, with a silent game on the bottom. The White House has denied that Obama's reference to wanting to "Jimmer" Libya is not in any way meant to be a threat of a potential war.
BYU Runs to "Sweetness": For the first time in 30 years, Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery, and the Cougars have moved onto the Sweet 16 where they will face Florida in New Orleans on Thursday. The Jimmer has averaged only 33 points in wins over Wofford and Gonzaga leading many experts to wonder if he will ever regain his ability to score.
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| Matt Howard (54) got the tournament started in style with a game-winning shot against ODU. |
Don't Miss It!: In February, I wrote about the fact that you could watch every game in its entirety due to the NCAA's new TV deal with CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV, but the real thing was even better than I could have imagined. Although I admittedly did catch the buzzer-beaters mentioned above on my phone while I was at work, you could find which channel had which game on as well as the scores and time remaining so you could jump over and catch a key moment of any other game. I'm not the only one who agreed: TV ratings were up 16% when compared to last year. On a related note, the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is also going on right now and can be found on ESPN3.com and ESPNTitleIX.com.
Sorry Mr. President, the Game is on: While Pres. Obama addressed the nation on Thursday assuring the country that harmful levels of radiation were not expected to reach the United States, CBS did not cut away to hear him live as the other major networks did. Instead, CBS summarized his report in a 60-second clip during a game's commercial break. On Friday, when Obama addressed the country regarding potential military action against Libya, CBS ran a split screen, with audio of Obama and his picture on top, with a silent game on the bottom. The White House has denied that Obama's reference to wanting to "Jimmer" Libya is not in any way meant to be a threat of a potential war.
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| No disrespect, Mr. Gadhafi, but if you mess with us, you're going to get Jimmered. |
How Do You Handle The Jimmer?: Florida's best-defender, Kenny Boynton, missed practice on Monday after spraining his ankle in Florida's win over UCLA on Saturday. Florida Gator Coach Billy Donovan expects him to play against BYU on Thursday, but that Boynton's history of ankle injuries does not give him confidence that Boynton will be ready to go mentally. "I think there's a mental hurdle for him that he's going to have to get over, that he does feel good and he's not playing in pain." Ankle injury or not, the same could be said to the mental anguish Jimmer has caused to anyone who has tried to defend him this year.
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| Florida fans are hopeful that Kenny Boynton's ankle will enable him to try and stop The Jimmer. |
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Winner's Manual For The Game Of Life?
In the middle of all this March Madness, a big-time college football coach for one of the most prominent programs in the country was suspended on Thursday by his school for the first 5 games of the 2011 college football season. You might be saying: "What? How did I not hear about this? That's almost half their football season!" Well, once the rest of the sports world had diverted its attention to college basketball on Thursday and Friday of this week, Ohio State announced that Jim Tressel would not coach in the first 5 games in 2011. It was barely even a line item on TV news ticker. It was barely even a story on ESPN Sportscenter. But on Thursday night Ohio State announced that Jim Tressel's original 2-game suspension was extended to 5 games (at his request) for not notifying the NCAA, the OSU athletic department, and his school's compliance department that he was aware for more than 9 months - including the entire 2010 football season - that 5 of his players had received improper benefits for selling autographed memorabilia and receiving discounted tatoos. The 5 players were suspended in December for the first 5 games of 2011 because they had admitted to receiving the improper benefits in the Spring of 2010. Inexplicably, the NCAA ruled they were eligible for OSU's January BCS Sugar Bowl appearance against Arkansas (which OSU won) even though it is still a possibility that OSU may have to forfeit their entire 2010 season because at least Coach Tressel knew he was playing ineligble players.
Clearly, the announcement that was released towards the end of the first day of March Madness was a two-pronged public relations move: 1) The original 2-game suspension for Coach Tressel was met with significant public backlash not only because it didn't meet the 5-game suspension his players received from the NCAA, but also because the 2 games he would be missing would be against 2 of the easier opponents on their schedule (Akron & Toledo); 2) By announcing the extended suspension on a day where the nation's attention towards college sports is at the arena as opposed to the field, OSU saved itself additional public scrutiny as the layers of the Ohio State "Tat-gate" onion are peeled back layer by layer - no public backlash if everyone is worried about their brackets.
But those can't be the real reasons Ohio State extended Tressel's suspension, can it? Oh no, we should also remember the NCAA has yet to rule on Tressel's punishment (the now 5-game suspension was "self-imposed" by Tressel and Ohio State). The real reason Ohio State's announcement was released on Thursday was because it was made shortly after the NCAA denied Ohio State's appeal that the punishment for the 5 players be reduced or removed entirely. The real public relations move was Tressel jumping behind his punished players immediately after the appeal was denied hoping that the NCAA won't impose any additional suspensions or sanctions on him or his program. What makes it worse is that Tressel never came forth on his own and he has hid behind his players the whole time! Ohio State discovered Tressel was aware of the benefits received by the players only as they were preparing the players' appeal to the NCAA.
I have lost all respect for Jim Tressel. I'm sure he is a good man. I'm sure he is a good coach. But he is also a terrible leader. His "leadership-from-behind" approach since April when he received the first email regarding the players' infractions has been both hypocritcal and unacceptable in a world where sports athletes and coaches are put on a public pedestal. I'm not even going to draw comparisons between Jim Tressel and Brandon Davies and how they handled their individual situations, but it is something to keep in mind as we await the finality of the Tressel / Ohio State situation.
In 2008, Tressel wrote a book entitled "The Winners Manual For The Game Of Life". I have not read the entire book, but in the Prologue, he writes:
"To many people, winning is everything...I've seen the positives of setting a goal and pushing a team of players to achieve it, working together and striving for something as a team. But I've also seen the destructive force of that kind of ruthless search and what it can do to young people and the coaches who try to win at all costs...So how can you know if you're a winner in life? Must we redefine the word? And if your life's game ended this second, would you consider yourself a winner? How can you measure such a thing? The book you're holding is my attempt not only to answer those important questions but also to distill the heart of a nearly four-hundred page handbook we give to our football players as they enter each new year at The Ohio State University."
Kids make mistakes but those who are set up to "coach" these kids in both football and life need to actually follow the manual, not just write about it.
Clearly, the announcement that was released towards the end of the first day of March Madness was a two-pronged public relations move: 1) The original 2-game suspension for Coach Tressel was met with significant public backlash not only because it didn't meet the 5-game suspension his players received from the NCAA, but also because the 2 games he would be missing would be against 2 of the easier opponents on their schedule (Akron & Toledo); 2) By announcing the extended suspension on a day where the nation's attention towards college sports is at the arena as opposed to the field, OSU saved itself additional public scrutiny as the layers of the Ohio State "Tat-gate" onion are peeled back layer by layer - no public backlash if everyone is worried about their brackets.
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| Ohio State's quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, is one of 5 players who are suspended for the first 5 games in 2011 for receiving improper benefits. |
I have lost all respect for Jim Tressel. I'm sure he is a good man. I'm sure he is a good coach. But he is also a terrible leader. His "leadership-from-behind" approach since April when he received the first email regarding the players' infractions has been both hypocritcal and unacceptable in a world where sports athletes and coaches are put on a public pedestal. I'm not even going to draw comparisons between Jim Tressel and Brandon Davies and how they handled their individual situations, but it is something to keep in mind as we await the finality of the Tressel / Ohio State situation.
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| Jim Tressel has tarnished his name and his coaching legend by not coming forth with knowledge of his players' infractions in April 2010. |
"To many people, winning is everything...I've seen the positives of setting a goal and pushing a team of players to achieve it, working together and striving for something as a team. But I've also seen the destructive force of that kind of ruthless search and what it can do to young people and the coaches who try to win at all costs...So how can you know if you're a winner in life? Must we redefine the word? And if your life's game ended this second, would you consider yourself a winner? How can you measure such a thing? The book you're holding is my attempt not only to answer those important questions but also to distill the heart of a nearly four-hundred page handbook we give to our football players as they enter each new year at The Ohio State University."
Kids make mistakes but those who are set up to "coach" these kids in both football and life need to actually follow the manual, not just write about it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Cinderella Story
One of the most intriguing parts about March Madness is trying to pick which lower-seeded team is going to upset a higher-seeded team. It's going to happen. It does every year. 2009 was the only time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in the mid-80's that all four 1, 2, and 3 seeds made the Sweet 16. Not convinced? According to people that are smarter than me, there are 147.57 quintrillion possibilities for predicting the possible winners in a 68-team bracket. How confident do you feel with your bracket picks now?!
Now before you pick UC-Santa Barbara to go to the Final Four, remember this: The lowest seed to ever reach the Final Four? George Mason (2006) and LSU (1986)? Only twice. Villanova (1985) was the lowest seeded team to win a National Championship as a #8 seed. But there is still going to be a team or two that is going to make you think that this year has to be another exception to the rule.
Another case for Cinderella: A #12 seed has beat a #5 seed four years in a row and in 9 of the last 10 years. This is not too surprising because the 5-12 game always seems to match up at least one #5-seeded team with glaring flaws (or else they'd be a higher seed) usually from a "power" conference against an underrated team from a mid-major conference that somehow didn't earn the respect of the Selection Committee. Utah State is a #12 seed this year in the Southeast Region and is a veteran group of players that are tough defenders and do not allow a lot of second-chance points. And they don't appreciate the way their invitation to the ball was delivered. Cue Senior Power Forward Tai Wesley: "Our seed is a slap in the face. We could have won three more games, then we probably could have gotten a 10 seed." (If Utah State had won three more games this year, they would have been 33-0) Oh really, tell me how you really feel...I like it. Upset. Cinderella? Maybe.
Book it. Fill in your brackets. It's gotta be one of the 147.57 quintrillion possibilities, right?
"So, you're saying there's a chance!" - Lloyd Christmas
Yes, Lloyd, but there is more than a chance for the Aggies this year.
Now before you pick UC-Santa Barbara to go to the Final Four, remember this: The lowest seed to ever reach the Final Four? George Mason (2006) and LSU (1986)? Only twice. Villanova (1985) was the lowest seeded team to win a National Championship as a #8 seed. But there is still going to be a team or two that is going to make you think that this year has to be another exception to the rule.
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| Will the slipper fit Tai Wesley and Utah State this year? |
A similar scenario seems to be playing out in that same part of the Southeast bracket between another 30-win team, Belmont, and Big Ten "power" Wisconsin. No slaps in the face here, but the result is the same: Upset. Wisconsin has been iffy away from Madison this year and the #13-seeded Belmont Bruins can play. The Bruins are second in the nation in 3-pointers per game and they have only lost once since Christmas. It would set up a Second Round game between a #12-seeded Utah State and #13-seeded Belmont to go to the Sweet 16. Is that crazy? It's actually happened eight times, which is more times than I would have guessed. One of these teams will go home on Saturday as a team that only pulled a First Round upset, while the other team will go on to be this year's Cinderella story going into the second weekend. Unfortunately, Utah State should expect midnight to strike well before the Final Four. LSU's and George Mason's records are safe.
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| Cinderella is a huge fan of the NCAA Tournament...and Utah State. |
Book it. Fill in your brackets. It's gotta be one of the 147.57 quintrillion possibilities, right?
"So, you're saying there's a chance!" - Lloyd Christmas
Yes, Lloyd, but there is more than a chance for the Aggies this year.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bracket Picking 101
March Madness is officially here! The 68-team tournament bracket is set and will start with the "First Four" on Tuesday & Wednesday. The First Four is a new wrinkle to the tournament this year and it consists of 4 play-in games between 8 different teams who were the teams that were seeded #61-68 by the Selection Committee. The NCAA Tournament will start in full force on Thursday and continue through the Championship Game on April 4. Now is the time for millions of people who may or may not watch College Basketball to pick up the bracket and fill in the predictions from the "First Four" all the way to the "Final Four".
There is no one right or wrong way to pick your brackets. There will be upsets, Cinderellas, no one will have a "perfect" bracket, and there will be a lot of money that is won and lost (if you're into that sort of thing). There are multiple methods that you may use to fill out their brackets, but here are ten things to think about as you pick up your pen:
10. Pick as many upsets as you can. History says this will not be nearly as successful, but it sure will be fun when Oakland actually beats Texas and you can say, "I picked that one! I picked that one!" Careful though, 16 seeds are 0-104 all-time against 1 seeds, 15 seeds are 4-100 against 2 seeds, but the 8 seeds actually have a losing record against the 9 seeds (48-56).
9. Pick the team that has the best school colors. This totally would depend upon which colors you like, but if it was me, then I would have North Carolina vs. UCLA in the championship game this year. UCLA has won 11 national championships while North Carolina has won 5. Hmmm...this one seems to have worked before.
8. Pick the team with the best star player. It seems that there are always 2 or 3 players every year that carry their team further than where they were expected to go. 18 of the 20 Naismith Award (College Basketball's "Heisman") finalists are going to be playing in the tournament. Check them out. They could be the key to cutting down the nets.
7. Pick the team with the best road record. A team that proves themselves throughout the season and goes into a hostile environment (as opposed to a "neutral" court) is prepared to play in a plethora of environments and situations. Teams such as Michigan State and Connecticut continually schedule tough road games throughout the season in order to prepare for the NCAA tournament (Michigan State has been to 8 Final Fours and Connecticut has been to 3). Interestingly, San Diego State led the country with a 12-1 road record while BYU was percentage points behind at 10-1. Does anyone else wonder what Jimmer said to Kawhi Leonard at the end of the MWC championship game on Saturday? "See you in Houston!" Maybe?
6. Pick the team that had the highest finish in its conference tournament. Since there are 31 teams in the tournament that won their conference tournaments, you may have to resort to another method for a tiebreaker, but how well a team is playing coming into the NCAA tournament can spill over into a national championship run.
5. Pick the best mascot. Similar to the "school color" method, this one may be much more subjective but if I employed this method, this year's championship game would feature the Long Island Blackbirds and the St. Peter's Peacocks. I think I just realized that I subconsciously really like birds.
4b. Pick the same team to win the championship every year. This was my wife's "go-to" for years until she got tired of picking Duke and resorted to another method in 2010. Do you happen to remember who won the national championship last year? I'll give you a hint...the team's name rhymes with "fluke".
4a. Pick the team whose students enjoy the best weather throughout the year. I believe this is the method my wife resorted to last year and believe it or not, she still didn't get the 2 final teams: Duke (North Carolina-it's not terrible in the winter, but there are too many hurricanes) and Butler (Indiana-Freeze out in the winter and too many tornadoes...not even close). Looks like the forecast calls for a championship game between San Diego State and Florida this year. Mmmm....interesting. Sorry, Pittsburgh, I know you're a #1 seed and all, but I've seen those Steeler playoff games in January.
3. Pick the team with the best overall record. The team that wins the most games throughout the season should win the most in the tournament, right? Kansas, San Diego State, and Ohio State all tied with 32 wins this year. All the "experts" seem to be picking Kansas and Ohio State, so maybe we should all get paid to go on TV and count a team's number of wins, too?
2. Always pick the highest seed. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee spent an entire week narrowing the field and selecting the teams by putting them in order from #1-#68, so they should know something, right? Well, only once (in 2008) have all four #1 seeds actually reached the Final Four.
1. Be Loyal. That's right, pick your favorite team no matter what and you may leave everyone saying, "Oh man, my bracket just got Jimmered!"
There is no one right or wrong way to pick your brackets. There will be upsets, Cinderellas, no one will have a "perfect" bracket, and there will be a lot of money that is won and lost (if you're into that sort of thing). There are multiple methods that you may use to fill out their brackets, but here are ten things to think about as you pick up your pen:
10. Pick as many upsets as you can. History says this will not be nearly as successful, but it sure will be fun when Oakland actually beats Texas and you can say, "I picked that one! I picked that one!" Careful though, 16 seeds are 0-104 all-time against 1 seeds, 15 seeds are 4-100 against 2 seeds, but the 8 seeds actually have a losing record against the 9 seeds (48-56).
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| Hampton, a 15 seed, beat Iowa State in 2001. Only 4 Number 15 seeds have ever won a game in the tourney. |
9. Pick the team that has the best school colors. This totally would depend upon which colors you like, but if it was me, then I would have North Carolina vs. UCLA in the championship game this year. UCLA has won 11 national championships while North Carolina has won 5. Hmmm...this one seems to have worked before.
8. Pick the team with the best star player. It seems that there are always 2 or 3 players every year that carry their team further than where they were expected to go. 18 of the 20 Naismith Award (College Basketball's "Heisman") finalists are going to be playing in the tournament. Check them out. They could be the key to cutting down the nets.
7. Pick the team with the best road record. A team that proves themselves throughout the season and goes into a hostile environment (as opposed to a "neutral" court) is prepared to play in a plethora of environments and situations. Teams such as Michigan State and Connecticut continually schedule tough road games throughout the season in order to prepare for the NCAA tournament (Michigan State has been to 8 Final Fours and Connecticut has been to 3). Interestingly, San Diego State led the country with a 12-1 road record while BYU was percentage points behind at 10-1. Does anyone else wonder what Jimmer said to Kawhi Leonard at the end of the MWC championship game on Saturday? "See you in Houston!" Maybe?
6. Pick the team that had the highest finish in its conference tournament. Since there are 31 teams in the tournament that won their conference tournaments, you may have to resort to another method for a tiebreaker, but how well a team is playing coming into the NCAA tournament can spill over into a national championship run.
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| The mascot method may not be for you, but the Long Island Blackbird loves it! |
4b. Pick the same team to win the championship every year. This was my wife's "go-to" for years until she got tired of picking Duke and resorted to another method in 2010. Do you happen to remember who won the national championship last year? I'll give you a hint...the team's name rhymes with "fluke".
4a. Pick the team whose students enjoy the best weather throughout the year. I believe this is the method my wife resorted to last year and believe it or not, she still didn't get the 2 final teams: Duke (North Carolina-it's not terrible in the winter, but there are too many hurricanes) and Butler (Indiana-Freeze out in the winter and too many tornadoes...not even close). Looks like the forecast calls for a championship game between San Diego State and Florida this year. Mmmm....interesting. Sorry, Pittsburgh, I know you're a #1 seed and all, but I've seen those Steeler playoff games in January.
3. Pick the team with the best overall record. The team that wins the most games throughout the season should win the most in the tournament, right? Kansas, San Diego State, and Ohio State all tied with 32 wins this year. All the "experts" seem to be picking Kansas and Ohio State, so maybe we should all get paid to go on TV and count a team's number of wins, too?
1. Be Loyal. That's right, pick your favorite team no matter what and you may leave everyone saying, "Oh man, my bracket just got Jimmered!"
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| BYU fans would love it if the phrase "My bracket got Jimmered" catches on. |
Sunday, March 13, 2011
MWC Bracketology
What a season for BYU and San Diego State! There are very few people who would have predicted that the MWC Championship game would feature two top-ten teams. In fact, who would have predicted that all three matchups between the two teams this year would have taken place while both teams were ranked in the top ten? BYU finishes 30-4 while SDSU finishes 32-2 - and 31-0 against all teams without Jimmer Fredette. Both teams knew they were going to the NCAA tournament before the game. The MWC Championship game was all about seeding, Sundays, and geography.
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SDSU did the "Jimmering" in the MWC Championship game. |
On Saturday night in the MWC Championship game, San Diego State exhibited all the traits of a team that could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament (senior leadership, powerful frontline, good guard play, and an experienced coach). Being the champion of the #4-ranked conference in the country during both the regular season and the tournament merits a No. 1 seed when the brackets come out tomorrow. But if I'm San Diego State, I could care less if I am a No. 1 seed or not, all I care about is being in the West bracket. Even a No. 2 seed in the West bracket is more favorable than a No. 1 seed in any other bracket (East, Southeast, Southwest) because SDSU would be able to play their first and second round games in Denver/Tucson while potentially playing their regional games a short bus ride away from San Diego in Anaheim. I predict that SDSU will end up as the No. 2 seed in the West when the brackets come out on Sunday night. I'll take a bus ride to the Sweet 16 over a No. 1 seed any day.
BYU has long been projected to be a No. 2 seed in the West by many "bracketologists" because their well-rounded team was cruising through the MWC while defeating SDSU twice during the regular season. They were even projected a couple of weeks ago (which seems like a month ago) to be the No. 1 seed in the West. The No. 2 seed in the West is favorable for BYU due to the geographical advantages as well, but it is also one of the "pods" within the bracket that allow for "No Sunday" play throughout the tournament. BYU's unwillingness to compete on Sundays is a regulation that the NCAA committee considers when placing BYU in the NCAA tournament. In years past, it has seemed that BYU was placed into a lower seed in order to accommodate the "No Sunday" rule. The "No Sunday" rule combined with a 3-2 record since the suspension of Brandon Davies will most definitely move them out of the West No. 2 seed Denver/Tucson-Anaheim preferred bracket, and considering the other "No Sunday" location options they may be moved out of the West Region entirely.
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Jimmer would love a No. 2 seed in the West, but a No. 3 or 4 is more likely for the Cougs. |
Given BYU's RPI rating, star power (The Jimmer), and strong season, BYU should receive no lower than a No. 4 seed (or else the committee will have some serious explaining to do), which in the West bracket would put the Cougars in Tampa or Tucson for the first and second rounds, and if they were to advance to the Sweet 16, back to Anaheim. Another alternative is that they could be shipped to the Southeast regional as the No. 3 seed. This would give the Cougars a sense of accomplishment going in as a high No. 3 seed, but may not be preferable from a travel standpoint. Going from Utah to Tampa/Tucson to Utah and potentially back to New Orleans may be difficult on a team that already appears slightly fatigued from an emotional couple of weeks and three intense MWC tournament games. Although it really shouldn't be taken as a sign of disrespect, I believe the committee will put BYU in as the No. 4 seed, citing the loss of Davies and BYU's loss of momentum down the stretch as the key factors.
Hey, 2 No. 5 seeds made the Final Four last year, including Butler, who advanced to the Championship Game.
I love Mormon rap songs about Jimmer - check it out: Teach Me How To Jimmer
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
MSG Magic
One of my favorite things about living in New York City is having such great access to some of the best sporting events in the world. Madison Square Garden is just 2 subway stops away, and it is easily one of my favorite places to go to watch an NBA game, a concert, a Hockey game, or a College Basketball game.
In fact, Kenna and I went to the St. John's-Pittsburgh game a couple of weeks ago, which was one of the best College Basketball games I have seen in a long time. St. John's won on a last-second shot with 1.5 seconds left. The Garden was going crazy! It has been quite a few years since St. John's has been relevant, but in classic New York style, their fans have come out in droves this year to fanatically support their team. On Wednesday afternoon, St. John's played Rutgers in a close game in 2nd round of the Big East tournament, and the Garden was going crazy - again! Take a look at what happened here.
My biggest issue with the result of this game was actually not the referees or the blown calls that went predominantly against Rutgers during the late stages of the game. No, my biggest issue with this game is the fact that St. John's, who plays many of its home games throughout the year at MSG, was playing a HOME game in the Big East Conference Tournament. Playing at HOME is an advantage for teams for many reasons, including the following: familiar surroundings during the game (court, rim, locker rooms, etc.), familiar routine before and after the game (sleep at home the night before, family / local support, etc.), but I feel the biggest impact of playing at HOME is the effect the crowd and the biased supporters may have on the referees! Referees have one of the hardest jobs in sports and I recognize that none of us are perfect, but what is not evident in the ESPN highlight is the loud and boisterous crowd that was riding the referees and criticizing them (only as New Yorkers can do) during the entire second half as the game was picking up intensity and as Rutgers pulled ahead towards the end of the game. Seeing the reactions of the referees during the last 4 seconds of the game and their inability to make any applicable calls (1. traveling, 2. out of bounds, 3. technical foul for throwing the ball in the air, 4. etc.) only highlight the fact that their judgment was significantly impacted by the intensity of the moment and the persuasive nature of the St. John's crowd. These were seasoned, proven Big East officials, but they just wanted to get out of there!
Even though the game was only this afternoon, the NCAA has already come out and said that many "unacceptable" mistakes were made in the officiating, but if the NCAA really wants to avoid these kind of emotional mistakes by the referees, then they will do everything possible to play these tournaments at "neutral" courts. As Championship Week continues and the Mountain West Conference begins its tournament in what I like to call the UNLV Invitational, let's just hope that the players and coaches are the only ones that will have the biggest impact on the outcome of these all-important tournament games.
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| Madison Square Garden is home to some of the best sporting events in the world, including St. John's baskeball. |
My biggest issue with the result of this game was actually not the referees or the blown calls that went predominantly against Rutgers during the late stages of the game. No, my biggest issue with this game is the fact that St. John's, who plays many of its home games throughout the year at MSG, was playing a HOME game in the Big East Conference Tournament. Playing at HOME is an advantage for teams for many reasons, including the following: familiar surroundings during the game (court, rim, locker rooms, etc.), familiar routine before and after the game (sleep at home the night before, family / local support, etc.), but I feel the biggest impact of playing at HOME is the effect the crowd and the biased supporters may have on the referees! Referees have one of the hardest jobs in sports and I recognize that none of us are perfect, but what is not evident in the ESPN highlight is the loud and boisterous crowd that was riding the referees and criticizing them (only as New Yorkers can do) during the entire second half as the game was picking up intensity and as Rutgers pulled ahead towards the end of the game. Seeing the reactions of the referees during the last 4 seconds of the game and their inability to make any applicable calls (1. traveling, 2. out of bounds, 3. technical foul for throwing the ball in the air, 4. etc.) only highlight the fact that their judgment was significantly impacted by the intensity of the moment and the persuasive nature of the St. John's crowd. These were seasoned, proven Big East officials, but they just wanted to get out of there!
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| Duke is one of the many teams that have fallen victim to the St. John's / MSG magic this season. |
Monday, March 7, 2011
Championship Week!
Welcome to Championship Week! Each Division I conference (with the exception of the Ivy League) follows up the regular season with a tournament to determine who will be receiving the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As there are 31 Division I conferences, there are 31 teams that will automatically be included in the 68-team field as selected by the NCAA Selection Committee as a conference champion. For the first time this year, the traditional 65-team tournament is expanding to 68 teams, which means that 37 teams will rely on the Selection Committee to select them as a participant in March Madness. Given the expansion from 65 to 68 teams, it means that there is slightly more wiggle room than in years past, but the absolute, guaranteed way to get into March Madness is by marching through and winning the conference tournament.
The teams that are not able to win their conference tournament are referred to as "at-large" teams and will be at the mercy of the Selection Committee on what has become known as Selection Sunday, when the Selection Committee reveals the 68-team field. Thankfully, the Selection Committee doesn't just choose the teams with the best name recognition or the teams whose fans will buy the most tickets, but they will meet during the latter part of this week leading up to Selection Sunday and be responsible for discussing the teams, comparing performances, and seeding the teams from 1-68. There are 10 members of the Selection Committee made up of Athletic Directors and Conference Commissioners from around the country who come from both large and small conferences. The NCAA also ensures that the committee consists of representatives from various geographical regions of the country.
Now, to say the Committee has a difficult job is an understatement. These 10 people are responsible for the fates of many coaches, players and athletic departments. Remember, they are athletic directors and conference commissioners themselves, so they understand what the effects of their decisions will have on the individual teams. In addition, to help the public better understand the grueling process of selecting the tournament field every year, the NCAA hosts a "mock" Selection Committee for certain members of the media. A couple of experiences from this year's mock Selection Committee can be found here and here. Good stuff!
As I wrote about in one of my previous posts, the AP rankings we often refer to throughout the season are determined by Associated Press writers, so there is little correlation, at times, between a team's rankings and their seed in the NCAA Tournament. One metric that is often discussed but never described is a team's "RPI". RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index. It's a rating system used by the Committee (and other prognosticators) to determine a team's "worthiness" to be selected to the tournament. A team's RPI score and ranking is based upon a team's own winning percentage (25% of the RPI score), the winning percentage of their opponents (50%), and even the winning percentages of their opponents' opponents (25%). With 75% of an RPI score based upon strength of schedule, the use of this ranking encourages teams from both "major" conferences (Big East, Pac-10, Big 12, etc) and the "mid-major" conferences (MWC, Atlantic 10, WAC, etc) to schedule a balance of games throughout the season that are both winnable yet against good competition. The RPI is definitely not an easy thing to understand, but all you need to know is this: It is good to be #1!
The official NCAA RPI rankings can be found here. Where is your team?
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| Jimmer loves to talk about the NCAA Selection Committee. BYU has a #4 RPI ranking. |
The teams that are not able to win their conference tournament are referred to as "at-large" teams and will be at the mercy of the Selection Committee on what has become known as Selection Sunday, when the Selection Committee reveals the 68-team field. Thankfully, the Selection Committee doesn't just choose the teams with the best name recognition or the teams whose fans will buy the most tickets, but they will meet during the latter part of this week leading up to Selection Sunday and be responsible for discussing the teams, comparing performances, and seeding the teams from 1-68. There are 10 members of the Selection Committee made up of Athletic Directors and Conference Commissioners from around the country who come from both large and small conferences. The NCAA also ensures that the committee consists of representatives from various geographical regions of the country.
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| Kansas is #2 in every poll except the all-important RPI ranking. |
As I wrote about in one of my previous posts, the AP rankings we often refer to throughout the season are determined by Associated Press writers, so there is little correlation, at times, between a team's rankings and their seed in the NCAA Tournament. One metric that is often discussed but never described is a team's "RPI". RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index. It's a rating system used by the Committee (and other prognosticators) to determine a team's "worthiness" to be selected to the tournament. A team's RPI score and ranking is based upon a team's own winning percentage (25% of the RPI score), the winning percentage of their opponents (50%), and even the winning percentages of their opponents' opponents (25%). With 75% of an RPI score based upon strength of schedule, the use of this ranking encourages teams from both "major" conferences (Big East, Pac-10, Big 12, etc) and the "mid-major" conferences (MWC, Atlantic 10, WAC, etc) to schedule a balance of games throughout the season that are both winnable yet against good competition. The RPI is definitely not an easy thing to understand, but all you need to know is this: It is good to be #1!
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| Ohio State is positioned for a #1 seed because of their current #2 RPI ranking. |
The official NCAA RPI rankings can be found here. Where is your team?
Saturday, March 5, 2011
From the USA with Love
Amidst all the interest, intrigue, and media buzz this week surrounding BYU, Brandon Davies, the BYU Honor Code, etc. is an international phenomenon that has made its way all the way to Europe. And no, I'm not talking about the "epic" and "radical" Charlie Sheen freak show. I'm talking about the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors. That's right, the 18-43 Nets and the 17-45 Raptors are two of the worst teams in the NBA, and in an effort to promote the game of basketball and the NBA, the Nets and the Raptors are playing the first regular season NBA games ever this weekend in London, England. Really? The NBA is trying to get England interested in the NBA with 2 Nets-Raptors games!? Thanks for Harry Potter and the Aston Martin, England, we hope you enjoy this exciting matchup between two non-playoff teams. Next summer, can you return the favor by sending us the West Bromwich Albion and the Wolverhampton Wanderers (both real English Premier League Soccer Teams) to give the US an exciting soccer game to watch? In fact, can they play each other twice? Pleeeease...
In all seriousness, it should come as no surprise that the Nets are one of the teams involved. The Nets were bought by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov last year. Prokhorov has been trying to raise the Nets' international profile (I didn't know they had one to begin with) ever since he bought the team last year. Prokhorov also helped close the deal for the Nets to move to Brooklyn in the Fall of 2012, including the construction of the new Barclays (a UK-based company) Center, which will be the home of the Nets for years to come. Prokhorov also led the aggressive charge to obtain Carmelo Anthony prior to the NBA trade deadline. Although he didn't end up with Anthony, the Nets were able to make a trade for Jazz All-Star point guard, Deron Williams, so they could have a superstar to build their team around for their upcoming relocation to Brooklyn and the World. The "Nyets" already have a Russian-language website and a deal with a TV network in the country to broadcast games. "We're making big efforts to make the Nets Russia's home team," Christophe Charlier recently said. Charlier is the chairman of the board of directors for the Nets and is also deputy CEO of the Mikhail Prokhorov-owned Onexim Group. On the heels of all these efforts, Nets CEO Brett Yormark summed it up for the two people already following the team: "It's a good time to be a (or the) Nets fan."
Deron Williams, in fact, admitted this week that he had no idea his new team was going to play in London to play against the Raptors. Oh well, I guess the NBA is going to have to improve its marketing of these events if these kind of games are going to take place in the future. In fact, the NBA has come out and aggressively said that the Nets-Raptors series this weekend is the first of many global initiatives to come. "Building the sport of basketball and the NBA internationally is a priority for the league as a whole, but we're thrilled that the Nets are so supportive of this." NBA Europe senior vice president Sophie Goldschmidt said about the NBA-England experiment. Apparently, the Raptors had to go because the flights must have been the cheapest from Canada.
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| The Queen's reaction when she found out the Nets-Raptors were going to bring the NBA to England. |
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| Deron Williams will be a cornerstone to the Nets' desire to have an international fan base. |
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Perfect Storm
BYU’s dream season came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night when Brandon Davies was suspended for the rest of the season, and then the Cougars stalled terribly as they tried to get going again amidst all the media attention and scrutiny that was prevalent throughout the day on Wednesday. It was as ugly over the airwaves as I’m sure it was to witness in person or on TV. The rebounding prowess and hot-shooting demonstrated by the 19-11 New Mexico Lobos on Wednesday night stood in stark contrast to BYU’s worst performance of the season. In the span of only 24-48 hours, BYU went from the highest of highs as a strong contender to receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and make a possible run to the Final Four, to the lowest of lows as they squandered the opportunity to claim at least a share of the Mountain West Conference Championship and a No. 1 seed in the Conference tournament while shooting a un-Cougar-like 34 percent from the field – at home – including 5-26 from 3-point range. It was the perfect storm.
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| Jackson Emery can't believe how quickly the momentum has changed against the Cougars. |
Throughout the game, the BYU radio announcers kept saying: “There’s still time for the Cougars to make a run, but they have to get going right now!” Unfortunately, the Cougars never got going. Emotionally drained from the ups and downs of winning a huge game at SDSU on Saturday, being projected as a No. 1 seed on Monday, and dealing with losing a brother (as so many players said after the game) on Tuesday, BYU never was able to pull within single digits in the second half. With every second half point Jimmer scored (he scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half and 25 of BYU’s 38), New Mexico had an answer by either getting a big rebound, a defensive stop, or a clutch three-pointer. For the second time this season, the New Mexico players played their best game against BYU. Even The Jimmer admitted that New Mexico has their number. Lightning struck twice.
Although I believe it is still way too early to panic, this is eerily similar to when Florida State waltzed into Lavell Edwards Stadium in 2009 after the BYU football team had come off a season-opening victory over #3-ranked Oklahoma, a dominating performance on the road against Tulane, and had quickly risen to a #7 national ranking. The season was young yet BYU was poised and ready to make a run towards a BCS Championship Game appearance. They had the talent and game experience at all the key positions on both offense and defense, and their performance during the first part of the season gave every Cougar fan the hope that a dream season was in store. In that game, Florida State dominated the Cougars as the hope and excitement about a championship season was ripped from our grasp on our home turf. FSU won 54-28 and dominated by outplaying the Cougars in every single facet of the game (except, of course, in turnovers given away – we won that battle 5-1!). A Top-10 ranked BYU team underperformed and they were exposed. Since the most important part of its season was still left to play, the Football team made adjustments and played to their strengths. BYU ended up winning 9 of their last 10 games and dominated Oregon State in the Vegas Bowl to end the season with an 11-2 record and a #12 national ranking.
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| BYU fans remember this feeling after Florida State came to town in 2009. |
Now, the obvious difference is that the 2009 Football team didn’t lose a key starter that changed the entire makeup of their team and a teammate that the rest of the players had loved and were extremely comfortable playing with. After the Davies suspension on Tuesday, time is what the Cougars needed going into the New Mexico game, and it was simply not on their side. They still had to go into the storm on Wednesday night and perform as a team. They didn’t. The loss to New Mexico only counts as one loss, and even though San Diego seems like it was a month ago, BYU is still in control of its own destiny for the No. 1 seed in next week’s Conference tournament. BYU must make key adjustments that play to their strengths because every team from here on out is going to try and do exactly what New Mexico did: Go inside, go inside, rebound, be ready to shoot the 3 as the Cougar defense helps inside, and go inside. Do the Cougars become Syracuse-like and play zone 100% of the time, trying to create turnovers by getting their hands in passing lanes as was the case in the second half of the SDSU game? Offensively, if the Cougars expect to win at least a share of the MWC Championship and make a run through the MWC and NCAA tournament, they need to shoot better than 34% from the field, get more than a combined 19 points between Abouo, Emery and Hartsock (Hartsock had 0 points against UNM), and not let the pressure of playing with one less brother make them feel like they can’t run their offense and only rely on the outside shot. Dave Rose and the coaching staff will not let the loss of Davies become an excuse in the minds of the players or the fans.
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| Charles Abouo will need to be a key contributor for the Cougars to make a deep run. |
The reality is that the pressure to make a Final Four run is off at this point. The entire country is ready to drop BYU to a 6-7 seed, and the fans’ expectations of a National Championship have gone out the window – just as they did after FSU left town in September 2009.
Is there still time for BYU to make a run? Absolutely. But they have to get going right now! Let’s just hope we don’t have to play New Mexico again…
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Yet Another Challenge
Wow! I feel like I just got punched in the stomach, and here is the BYU press release that did it:
PROVO, Utah (March 1, 2011) — Due to a violation of the BYU Honor Code, Brandon Davies will not represent the university on the men's basketball team throughout the remainder of the 2010-11 season. Davies, a sophomore from Provo, Utah, has started 26 of 29 games for the No. 3-ranked Cougars, averaging 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game in 2010-11. BYU does not make public details regarding violations of its Honor Code. Given BYU became aware of this violation yesterday, some decisions regarding Davies' future on the basketball team and at the university are yet to be determined."
After 3 days of reveling in BYU's biggest road victory ever and about 45 minutes after I heard Dick Vitale (ESPN) say that BYU is a "National Championship contender and deserves the #1 seed in the West", Cougar Nation is struck with the news that BYU is going to be playing the rest of its season without its third-leading scorer and its leading rebounder. To say this news is disappointing is an understatement. There hasn't been this much buzz about BYU Basketball in a looong time, and just as the calendar turns to March we are hit with a press release that couldn't have come at a worse time for BYU's National Championship hopes.
What is unfortunate is that many people across the country will view this as an opportunity to pile on BYU and justify that with Davies suspended BYU is no longer worthy of a #1 seed and is no longer worthy to be considered a National Championship contender. We'll find out pretty quickly how Dave Rose, his coaching staff, and the players react to this news tomorrow night as they have to go out against a tough New Mexico team, who was the last team to beat BYU, without one of their key inside post players. But if past performance is any indicator as to how the Cougars will respond, this will be just another bump in the road on their way to a long tournament run. Rose, his coaching staff, and the players will need to view this situation as yet another challenge to overcome, just like when Jimmer missed a lot of last season due to mono, just like when Chris Collinsworth went down early this season with a knee injury, just like when Davies was in foul trouble seemingly every game - you get the picture. The Cougars still had to go out and get wins, and they did so in every instance. The natural reaction is to say that the season is over and the Cougars are doomed, but there will be no excuses for this team, and this will be a fantastic opportunity for Jimmer to cement his legacy in BYU lore by carrying his team through the MWC and NCAA tournament. Mark my words, BYU will still finish the season strong and most likely will still be a high seed (if not #1) in the NCAA tournament. No doubt, the Cougars will need to have huge contributions from Noah Hartsock, James Anderson, Stephen Rogers, Charles Abouo, Kyle Collinsworth in order to compensate for Davies' absence, but rest assured that Dave Rose (who on a personal level had a much more real and life-altering challenge called cancer to overcome...which he did!) will not let his team or its fans use Davies' absence as an excuse.
Who knows what the long-term impact of Davies' suspension will be or if we will ever see him in a Cougar uniform again? But this much we do know: Davies will not be a part of the team for its March Madness run, and how far BYU goes will be determined by how BYU responds to this newest challenge.
Greg Wrubell's summary of the Davies situation hits home with Cougar fans everywhere:
"I can only imagine how Davies, the BYU players and coaches feel tonight, because I am sure most of Cougar Nation just feels crushed. An injury absence is in a way easier to overcome, because a player's health could be affected at any instant, for no reason at all. Injury may be unfair, but it is also without forethought or penalty. Honor Code suspensions are a result of choice and consequence, and those elements make Davies impending absence tougher to understand and accept. He will now sit and watch (or possibly, not watch), as his teammates move on without him. The Cougars may or may not go farther than any team in BYU Basketball history, but Davies will not be along for the ride, and it didn't have to be that way."
Go Cougars!
PROVO, Utah (March 1, 2011) — Due to a violation of the BYU Honor Code, Brandon Davies will not represent the university on the men's basketball team throughout the remainder of the 2010-11 season. Davies, a sophomore from Provo, Utah, has started 26 of 29 games for the No. 3-ranked Cougars, averaging 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game in 2010-11. BYU does not make public details regarding violations of its Honor Code. Given BYU became aware of this violation yesterday, some decisions regarding Davies' future on the basketball team and at the university are yet to be determined."
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| Jimmer will have to carry even more of the offensive attack with Davies out of the lineup. |
What is unfortunate is that many people across the country will view this as an opportunity to pile on BYU and justify that with Davies suspended BYU is no longer worthy of a #1 seed and is no longer worthy to be considered a National Championship contender. We'll find out pretty quickly how Dave Rose, his coaching staff, and the players react to this news tomorrow night as they have to go out against a tough New Mexico team, who was the last team to beat BYU, without one of their key inside post players. But if past performance is any indicator as to how the Cougars will respond, this will be just another bump in the road on their way to a long tournament run. Rose, his coaching staff, and the players will need to view this situation as yet another challenge to overcome, just like when Jimmer missed a lot of last season due to mono, just like when Chris Collinsworth went down early this season with a knee injury, just like when Davies was in foul trouble seemingly every game - you get the picture. The Cougars still had to go out and get wins, and they did so in every instance. The natural reaction is to say that the season is over and the Cougars are doomed, but there will be no excuses for this team, and this will be a fantastic opportunity for Jimmer to cement his legacy in BYU lore by carrying his team through the MWC and NCAA tournament. Mark my words, BYU will still finish the season strong and most likely will still be a high seed (if not #1) in the NCAA tournament. No doubt, the Cougars will need to have huge contributions from Noah Hartsock, James Anderson, Stephen Rogers, Charles Abouo, Kyle Collinsworth in order to compensate for Davies' absence, but rest assured that Dave Rose (who on a personal level had a much more real and life-altering challenge called cancer to overcome...which he did!) will not let his team or its fans use Davies' absence as an excuse.
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| Coach Rose will have to rally Cougar Nation to overcome Davies' absence. |
Greg Wrubell's summary of the Davies situation hits home with Cougar fans everywhere:
"I can only imagine how Davies, the BYU players and coaches feel tonight, because I am sure most of Cougar Nation just feels crushed. An injury absence is in a way easier to overcome, because a player's health could be affected at any instant, for no reason at all. Injury may be unfair, but it is also without forethought or penalty. Honor Code suspensions are a result of choice and consequence, and those elements make Davies impending absence tougher to understand and accept. He will now sit and watch (or possibly, not watch), as his teammates move on without him. The Cougars may or may not go farther than any team in BYU Basketball history, but Davies will not be along for the ride, and it didn't have to be that way."
Go Cougars!
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