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Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll, center, battles for a loose ball against Kansas defenders Travis Releford, left, Mario Little, back, and Sherron Collins on Feb. 9 at Mizzou Arena.
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Technically, there’s not a Big 12 North or South division in college basketball, but teams from the North seem to be swinging the pendulum of talent away from the South in 2009.
Kansas, always in the discussion for a Big 12 tournament championship, is in a familiar position to contend for another crown this season. But it’s the depth provided by the next three teams — Missouri, Kansas State and Nebraska — that has earned North teams more respect of late.
This season, North teams make up four of the top six spots in the Big 12 standings. Last season, four of the top six teams in the conference were South teams.
Futhermore, North teams carry an 11-8 advantage in head-to-head matchups against South teams this season. It’s also worth noting that four of those eight North losses were courtesy of Iowa State and Colorado, who are a combined 2-14 in conference play.
When talking about added respect among the North teams, it starts with No. 16 Kansas, which is 8-1 in conference play. Impressive, considering the Jayhawks lost all five starters from last year’s national championship team. KU starts two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, and coach Bill Self still has the Jayhawks second in the Big 12 standings.
Then, there’s Missouri at 8-2, fresh off the biggest victory of coach Mike Anderson’s career, a 62-60 home triumph over Kansas on Monday. The Tigers, who were 6-10 in the conference last season, have finally caught on to Anderson’s “40 Minutes of Hell” style of pressure defense. They’ve won four straight and are third in the Big 12 standings.
Kansas State, a year removed from losing Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, wasn’t supposed to contend this season. The Wildcats were picked eighth in the preseason coaches poll, and for a while, it seemed like an accurate prediction. K-State started conference play 0-4. Since then, the Wildcats have been one of the hottest teams in the country. They’ve won five straight and have soared in the Big 12 standings into a tie for fourth at 5-4.
The other team tied for fourth in the Big 12? Nebraska (5-4), which was picked ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll. Nebraska has won three straight, including a massive home victory over Texas on Feb. 7 that resulted in fans storming the court.
So are these North teams legitimate contenders?
In his latest Bracketology, ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi predicts five Big 12 teams will make the NCAA Tournament. Those teams, in order of seeding: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Kansas, No. 5 Missouri, No. 7 Texas and No. 12 Kansas State.
Three North teams and two South teams.
For now, the North has the advantage a little more than halfway through the season. We’ll find out soon enough if these North teams can keep the momentum in their favor.
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_r90x60.jpg?781011941c6c07bdfc65b7b14fce7e91909b1ea6 "KU guard Sade Morris battles Michigan guard Dayeesha Hicks for a loose ball during the first half of the game on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, at Allen Fieldhouse.")
Comments
JayhawkPhil (anonymous) says...
I said at the beginning of the season that the Big 12 would be divided into three groups, 3 at the top, 3 at the bottom and six in the middle that could finish in any order between 4th and 9th. That is basically what it looks like now with a few exceptions. Texas had dropped from the top group to the middle group and Missouri has moved from the middle group to the top group although they will have a hard time staying there since they already have 2 losses.I agree the North is more competitive with the South this year but it still has the two worst teams in the league.
February 11, 2009 at 10:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lv_jhwk (anonymous) says...
"Technically, there’s not a Big 12 North or South division in college basketball"Eric, whether intentional or not, I strongly agree with the very first word of that statement. I am always amused whenever the conference goes to great lengths to convince people of this but then continues to schedule otherwise. If the higher-ups were actually convinced themselves, they would find a way to rotate teams as far as who is played twice or just once.
February 11, 2009 at 11:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
esorrentino (Eric Sorrentino) says...
Hey guys, thanks for posting. Lv, I didn't mean for it to be intentional. I was pretty much speaking in terms of the Big 12 tournament. As you probably already know, the Big 12 ranks teams 1-12 for the tournament based on how they did in conference play. There's no North-South breakdown.In the SEC, for instance, they rank teams 1-6 in the East and 1-6 in the West and have East vs. West matchups in every game for round one. In this scenario, divisions obviously come into play.
February 11, 2009 at 11:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KGphoto (anonymous) says...
Tourney or no tourney, it will always be North vs. South in the fans minds. I'll always root for Missouri over the South's Texas invaders. It's a brotherhood type of thing. We're the Big Eight. Seven, Six, etc.... We go back.That said."Bring me Zaire"!March 1, 2009Allen Fieldhouseone o'clock
February 11, 2009 at 1:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JayhawkPhil (anonymous) says...
Right after being a KU fan fanatic, I am a Big 8/Big 12 fanatic. At the halfway point in the league schedule here are my all league teams. I know I hedged my bets by putting 11 guys on my all honorable mention team.All Big 121st TeamGriffin-OU, Collins-KU, Brackins-ISU, Abrams-Tx, Jerrells-Bay2nd TeamAnderson, OSU, James-Tx, Aldrich-KU, Warren-OU, Carroll-MU3rd TeamCarter-T A&M, Eaton-OSU, Clemente-KSU, Roberson-TT, Dagundaro-NUAll Honorable MentionLyons & Tiller-MU, Higgins-CU, Dunn & Rogers-BAY, Pullen-KSUCrocker-OU, Johnson-Tx, Harley-NU, Harris or Munelo-OSUAll Freshman1st TeamAcy-Baylor, Taylor-KU,Dufault-CU, English-MU Warren-OU2nd TeamTomlinson-CU, Marcus Morris-KU, Samuels-KSU, Denman-MU, Page-OSU 3rd TeamHamiltonISU, Markieff Morris-KU, Paul-MU, McCray-NU, Lonbeau-T A&MAll JUCO/TransferLittle-KU, Clemente-KSU, Taylor & Ramsay-MU, vanderbecken- ISUArguements are accepted
February 11, 2009 at 1:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jaybate (anonymous) says...
Reading on Conditioning Unrelated to this Story:In the wake of watching KU run out of gas vs. Fizzou's near 40 minute press, I coincidentally stumbled into reading "Bird Watching," Larry Bird's as-told-to book of 1999. It was written the year after he won Coach of the Year honors for taking Larry Brown's former 39 win Pacer squad and winning 59 games with it.Bird explains why he took over the team. He was looking for a team that had the talent to go to the next level that needed something he could provide to get them there. He wanted to win now and he knew he wasn't the greatest coach in the world, so he had to pick a situation where what he did know could improve the team.He knew Brown was a terrific coach. He didn't think he could add to the x's and o's Brown taught. He knew he had to get some great, experienced assistants even to hope to equal him on that.He believed the players were probably sick of listening to Brown, after three years, because he believes all players are sick of listening to the same coach after three years. So he thought they might be ready for a fresh take. But a fresh take with nothing crucial to tell was useless.He studied the teams scoring stats under Brown awhile before taking the job. They were ahead of opponents the first quarter.They were a little ahead of opponents the second quarter.They were even with opponents in the third quarter.They were behind opponents in the fourth quarter.He said they often like tired late in games.Bird said he figured if he just got them in better shape he could win a bunch more games.He conditioned them way harder than Brown did.He told them he had done the drills for his Boston Celtics Coach Bill Fitch that he was asking them to do, so he knew they could do them.He said the defensive drills were the key. They were way more grueling than wind sprints. He said guys had to get used to "groin pain" (I believe he was referring to muscle, tendon and ligament pain in the hips and pelvis) so bad they think they can't stand it and then they have to condition through it for 3-4 days. He said wind sprints and running and weight lifting and tread mills and exercycles don't get you there. He said the game is played in a squat and if you train hard in the squat position you will be in better condition than most other teams that don't want to pay that price. This part reminded me that John Wooden said that he told his players at the start of each season, he could not promise they would have the most talent, but he could promise they would be the best conditioned team in the country; that they would never run into an opponent that they would tire first on. Wooden said it gave his teams both an enormous amount of confidence and the ability to keep executing well into overtime when necessary.
February 11, 2009 at 4:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jaybate (anonymous) says...
Back to Bird.Bird also said he instituted aggressive game day shoot arounds. He said guys need to be repeatedly primed to be aggressive. He said they need to go out the day of the game and let the bodies fly for awhile to be ready to play. He said this was pretty much unheard of at the time and something the Pacers had never experienced. He said what players do to each other in shoot around has to be as tough as what they will encounter later that day in the game. He said some players were naturally aggressive and others were not. With out intense shoot arounds, he implied the non aggressive players would take several minutes of play before they became aggressive. He wanted his superbly conditioned team to hit the floor at full aggression. He knew it gave them an edge knowing they were in better shape and knowing they were not going to be roughed up.One more point Bird drove home was this: he used to tell guys, look, I'm only asking for 28 minutes of maximum effort from you. I'm not asking for 8 hours. If you can't even give me 28 minutes of full effort, tell me and we'll give you a day off.I like this approach of Bird's. 28 minutes, even 30 minutes puts the game into perspective. Its not 8 hours. Its not even an hour. Most coaches only ask players for 10, 20, or 30 minutes twice a week.KU has run out of gas late in games a couple of times this year.The Twins rarely give it everything they have in any game.Tyshawn acts like he hates contact still.Sherron plays as hard as he can, but he runs out of gas. So cut his minutes, if he can't give 36 minutes.Cole needs to get in better shape period. He hasn't played as hard once this year as he did that 10 minute stretch against UNC last season. He has been pacing himself for longer PT. Cole, its only 30 minutes. Its not 8 hours. Larry Bird played 8 years with back pain so bad he often couldn't walk. You telling me you have to pace yourself for 30 minutes of college ball?Brady plays within himself superbly, but maybe he needs to push his envelope further than it is and play within that.Tyrel needs to understand that the effort he displayed against MU for 22 minutes is something he can do every game. Its only 22 minutes. Its not 8 hours.What we have here is a conditioning problem and cascading from that is a mental conditioning problem.40 Minutes of Hell from MU? That's only 40 minutes, guys. That's not 8 hours.Maybe the issue is not about manhood at all.Maybe the issue is about getting your asses in better shape.
February 11, 2009 at 4:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KGphoto (anonymous) says...
Definitely interesting info. But I might add. Larry Bird dropped out of Indiana at the age of 18 because he was intimidated and ill-prepared for the big stage. Then he quit school entirely before maturing enough to play college ball at all. He was older than Cole is now when he got his first significant minutes at Indiana State.Surely they can all train harder, but I have a hard time comparing ColeTrain with a 6 year NBA veteran. So much about toughness comes with age and experience. Bird gained mental toughness over time.So while dealing out emasculating jabs, consider that Larry Bird peed his pants and became a trash man at the same age that Cole was manhandling the consensus NCAA tough-guy in the Final Four.
February 11, 2009 at 6:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ralster (anonymous) says...
Nice dissertation, Jaybate. I would wonder, though, just how much lack of conditioning is present at this point of the season, in addition to practices and intense BigXII games. If anything, the youngsters might be fatigued--heck, most of us can SEE that Sherron, a tough Junior, was fatigued. Maybe Mario Little is working up into final playing shape, but physiologically speaking, after 3 weeks of the KU-basketball-grind, I bet everyone is as conditioned as they are going to get, cardiovascularly speaking. My personal thought is "keep working on repetition of execution", especially in the Self-style game: its why some players like Releford, Appleton, Thomas, etc. have had a tough time cracking the lineup. They are still acquiring that critical mass of knowledge+execution+decision-making that baby Jayhawks need to fly off the (pine) deck...and not deep6...
February 11, 2009 at 8:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jaybate (anonymous) says...
ralster,
I agree that this team probably will not get in any better shape. It is pretty tough to condition much this time of year without showing up for games without legs.
The question is: Self condition this team as thoroughly as he did last year's team?
Last year's team never ran out of gas that I recall, except maybe against Memphis, and that was relative, because Memphis was even more tired.
Answer: I don't think he could.
Sherron, the Sarge who would have set the killer pace, showed up fat and out of shape.
Little, another guy who probably would have been a pace setter in conditioning, was battling a stress fracture.
The Twins didn't show up until mid terms, it seemed like.
Cole is clearly a guy with limited pulmonary function even before he had his nose introduced to cartilage flattening.
Tyshawn is in decent shape, because he is a hare by nature, but even he can't really go 35 all out.
Look at who never seems to get tired playing big minutes. Brady the gym rat, who ran with the big dogs last year.
Tyrel, who did likewise, is pumping oxygenated blood pretty well to, though he never gets more than 20-22 minutes.
Look for Self to issue an edict in private to his team: anyone who shows up late next year, or who is a food substance abuser, can forget showing up. Team conditioning is too important in this sport.
February 12, 2009 at 9:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )