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March 12, 2009
I have several topics on my mind after the first day of the Big 12 tournament at Oklahoma City's Ford Center. I'll try to break them down into a numbered list.
Here goes:
1. Really, Texas A&M?
The Aggies looked dreadful in the second half of an 88-83 loss to Texas Tech. Apparently, a 21-point lead (in the second half, mind you) wasn't enough for A&M. KUSports.com online editor Jesse Newell brilliantly pointed out what scared him the most about the Aggies in the latest Big 12 Soundoff podcast: No lead is safe with A&M. Texas Tech exploited that weakness Wednesday night.
And who was that genius who had A&M as his sleeper team in the tournament? Guilty as charged. I'll admit it.
2. Could A&M now miss the NCAA Tournament?
I'll say this much: A&M is far from a Tournament lock, and players and coaches will have to watch Sunday's selection show on the edges of their seats. Just a day ago, the Aggies were considered a near-lock.
3. A&M may have opened a massive door for K-State.
The Big 12 has never sent seven teams to the Big Dance, and I don't think 2009 will be any different. If that's the case, K-State has a huge opportunity at 2 p.m. today against Texas. If the Wildcats were the odd Big 12 team out of the NCAA Tournament discussion, imagine what a victory over the Longhorns would do in the minds of committee members. K-State would look a whole lot more attractive than A&M. Plus, Kansas State defeated A&M head-to-head. In College Station. Really, the only advantage A&M has on K-State is its non-conference (victories over LSU, Arizona). A&M's biggest conference victory? Missouri, which K-State also defeated.
4. Player of the day: Mike Singletary, Texas Tech.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward was flat-out ridiculous, setting a Big 12 tournament record with 43 points. Texas Tech's 21-point comeback was essentially all because of Singletary. At one point, he scored 29 straight points for Tech.
So who in the heck is this guy? Well he's from Humble, Texas. He didn't even start for the Red Raiders on Wednesday night. Singletary's previous high this season was 24 against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18 in Lubbock, Texas. He came into the game averaging only 11 points per game. The Red Raiders exploded for 59 points in the second half Wednesday night behind Singletary.
5. Can Big Dex last four straight games?
Texas' Dexter Pittman was dominating in the Longhorns' 67-56 opening-round victory over Colorado, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 boards. The junior center did all of this in only 28 minutes. UT players were consistently feeding him the ball no more than three to four feet away from the hoop, where he'd make one move and score with relative ease.
My only concern is that he dunked at least three times in the first half and looked more fatigued in the second half, opting to lay the ball up instead. He could have had 30 because he missed two bunnies in the second half. If Texas is to advance to the finals, a position it has been in the last three years, it would have to play four straight days. Texas has been searching for alternate scoring options to A.J. Abrams and Damion James for a while now, and they found a goldmine on Wednesday with Pittman's performance. I'm just not sure the 6-10, 300-pound big fella can produce like this for four straight nights, should the 'Horns keep rolling.
Can't wait for games to begin today. Should be another exciting day of hoops. Hope everyone enjoys.
That's all for now, friends. As always, discuss.
Comments
chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...
sor much for my big12 bracket. gotta get these bad picks out of my system before the dance.
But i am having so much fun at work right now in Kentucky land...
Kentucky teams in the dance:
Louisville
Morehead St.
Western Ky.
OUT:
Kentucky
hehe
March 12, 2009 at 6:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zissou (anonymous) says...
I hate to say it, but Mark Turgeon got out-coached last night. When a guy is hot, there's not a lot you can do once he gets the ball in his hands, but A&M consistently let Tech begin their possessions with Singletary at the helm. No double team, no help, nothing at all.
And then the decision with under 10 seconds to make both free throws (even though the numbers tell you to miss the second and crash the boards) made Turg look amateur. I hope A&M makes it in, but I'm with you Sorrentino: they're no lock.
March 12, 2009 at 8:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jnewell (Jesse Newell) says...
zissou — We were discussing the free throw thing on press row. I looked at Turgeon, and he looked upset when the second free throw went in. I'm not sure whether he asked his guy to miss it or not (why else would he be upset with a point?). Obviously, the Aggies have the height advantage, so we were wondering that same thing — whether making that second free throw was the right call.
March 12, 2009 at 8:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RockChalkJayBlog (anonymous) says...
Definitely in that situation you go for the miss. It's not like it would have put them in a bigger disadvantage than they already were.
I noticed that from just looking at the play by play.
March 12, 2009 at 8:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KUballer (anonymous) says...
I think A&M is still in.
They put their tourney resume on up during the game last night and it showed the had an RPI in the high 20's. One of the play-by-play guys pointed out that no team with an RPI under 35 or 36 (i dont remember which) has missed the tourney in the last ten years. So there you go, they're in.
March 12, 2009 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jnewell (Jesse Newell) says...
KUballer — I agree with you that I think A&M is still in. They were projected as a 9 seed in many projections before last night, so one loss probably won't kill the Aggies.
I've heard, though, that the committee doesn't take the RPI into consideration for individual teams. Instead, they only use it to determine top-50 and top-100 opponents a team faces.
Any truth to that? If so, obviously A&M's bid wouldn't be as secure, as it has been riding that high-RPI argument for a while.
March 12, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RockChalkJayBlog (anonymous) says...
They're probably sitting at a 12 seed right now...
And they're dangerous enough to be in that typical 5-12 upset.
I just see their resume as being better than K-State's resume. However, a win over Texas and Kansas would definitely put A&M on the bubble.
March 12, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tulsahawkfan (anonymous) says...
Jeez I'm tired of reading that Tech's comback was the biggest in Big 12 Tourney history. I was at the championship game two years ago at OKC when we came from 22 down to beat Durant and company. I realize so much is just copied from the AP and they got it wrong but you would think between si.com, espn.com, cbssports.com or maybe even kusports.com it would get corrected.
March 12, 2009 at 12:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zissou (anonymous) says...
Jesse — I had to go off of what the TV guys were telling me, and they said before he even shot it that Turg was calling for him to make it. Any chance they were mistaken? What did you see, exactly?
By making the second free throw, considering that Tech wasn't giving the ball to anyone but Voskuil, you assume they'll hit theirs and be right back where you were. Only with less time. Which is exactly what happened, and they were forced to make the idiotic pass that ended the game.
March 12, 2009 at 12:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jnewell (Jesse Newell) says...
zissou — I was surprised by Turgeon's reaction following the free throw. I would describe it as a scowl. Maybe he was frustrated being down, I don't know. But either way, I'm with you. Miss the free throw and use your size to get the rebound. I would say that's your best bet.
March 12, 2009 at 3:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )