Author: Coach Z (Page 26 of 38)

This week Tennessee destroyed a higher ranked Vanderbuilt team. Some would call this an upset. Louisville did the same to Marquette. Are either of these upsets? How about Texas Tech winning at home against Texas A & M? Too often the pundits want to call these major upsets, however, when you play at home in league play things are different. I don’t care what league you play in it is always tough to win on the road.

Ask Rhode Island or ButlerThe Rams lost at St. Louis while Butler dropped a road game to Cleveland State. Let me jump out on a tangent for a moment. How about the job that Gary Watersis doing at Cleveland State. He has them undefeated in the Horizon and off to the best start since the days of Coach Kevin Mackey and Mouse McFadden. Albeit, he is doing it with a little more regard for the rules and his players.

He was not a good fit at Rutgers. His roots are in the Midwest and he is best at mining talent out of Michigan and Ohio. Afterall, he was the one who got things rolling at Kent State. Look for the Vikings to put themselves in a poistion for post season play.

Over in St. Louisthe Billikens came close on Saturday against Dayton, but then got over the hump with a win over nationally ranked Rhode Island. Once again it was Majerus at his best. And it looks like Tommie Liddell is finally starting to soak up some of that basketball knowledge.

Getting back to the BCS boys, Bob Knight beat Texas A&M for the third straight time. Change coaches it doesn’t matter the General has your number. Just like Majerus, he is a master of utilizing the talent available and creating strong defensive, fundamentally sound teams.

Big game this weekend in Missouri. It is part one of the Border War. Kansas visits the Tigers and it should be a heckuva game in front of a sell out crowd. If Missouri wins it will be their second home conference win over a ranked team. However, this one will be an upset as Kansas is capable of running the table in the league. They are that good!

Writers like stories that fit in a neat little box. That’s why they love to call every team that doesn’t play in a BCS Conference (football league) a “mid major.” However, one size doesn’t fit all and sometimes the shoe doesn’t fit. Now there are teams and leagues taking umbrage to such name calling.

In fact this past week Xavier declined an opporutnity to take part in an article being written by ESPN The Magazine titled “Eight things you didn’t know about a mid-major.” They don’t view themselves as a mid major. Nor should they. Just because they don’t have a football team does not make them less of a basketball program than say Northwestern or Michigan. I have been in the new Cintas Center and I can tell you it is one of the nicest college basketball arenas in the country. It might be the nicest. Their set up is second to none. For comparison sake, it is much nicer than Michigan or Northwestern’s home court. Travel budgets are equal and more importantly, their track record is better.

Xavier has been to the NCAA tournament 16 of the past 21 years. That is a better record than over half of the teams in the so called high major conferences. Also, the league that they play in should never be labeled as mid major as it is by some writers. Lazy writers who don’t know basketball history are the guilty parties. The Atlantic 10 has sent more teams to the NCAA tournament with only one loss since 1988 than any other conference. Oh yeah, St. Joe’s was ranked #1 in the country in 2004. When was the last time Miss. Sate, Oregon State, Baylor, Purdue ranked #1 in the country?

Also, these so called mid major teams are paying just as much for a home game as teams in the Big 12 and SEC. Money talks!!

Two other teams that should never be considered mid major. Creighton has been in the top five of attendance and has been to more consecutive NCAA tournaments than over half of the Big 12. And you know what, I am not even going to mention what Gonzaga has done.

So next time you start talking about this team or that team being a mid major, stop and take a closer look. Don’t just repeat what some lazy writer has said in an attempt to wrap everything with nice, neat bow.

SUTTON UPDATE
Has not won a game at San Francisco and is still 2 wins shy of 900.

The NCAA rejected an appeal for an override of the text messaging ban they put into place last year. My first question is how many of the people on the committee even use text messaging. You are looking at a committee of people consisting of folks who just realized that vinyl records are no longer sold in stores. Let’s get into the 21st century guys….

Once again the NCAA has made it more difficult for coaches to get to know recruits and their parents. The NCAA wants to cut down on transfers, but at the same time take away another avenue to allow coaches to make a more informed decision during the recruiting process. That’s the catch-22.

Also, it takes the power out of a recruits hands. If a recruit doesn’t want to talk to a coach they won’t text them back. Texting also eliminated needless phone calls that can take up too many hours of a recruit’s time.

Way to go NCAA.

Dayton won a hard fought game in overtime against St. Louis on the road and Rhode Island used the clutch shooting of Head Coach Jim Baron’s son to nip Duquesne on Saturday….

I had an opportunity to watch St. Louis (coming off a record setting perfomrance for offensive futility vs. George Washington) almost pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season. They led 20th ranked Dayton for most of the game and had a wide open three point shot by their best shooter, Kevin Lisch, rimmed out in the last 30 seconds. A shot that would have given them the lead and the win. Instead they succumbed to Dayton in overtime.

It was two remarkable performances. One by Coach Rick Majerus who rallied his Billikens to within a jump shot of the the win. The other by Dayton guard Brian Roberts.

St. Louis is a team devoid of talent. They have no inside presence to go to which makes them work extrememly hard on every possession. However, they might be one of the best defensive teams in the country. All night long they made Dayton work for every shot. They allowed only a couple of baskets in transition the entire game. Also, they made Brian Roberts work for everything he got.

That is what is so amazing about Brian Roberts. He scored 30 points and hit every big shot the Flyers needed. He has a great presence on the court and a tremendous basketball IQ. It is easy to see why Dayton is off to such a great start. He is the brains and the catalyst. Remember his name because yo will see him in the NBA!!

Meanwhile Rhode Island battled tooth and nail against a rejuvenated Duqeusne squad. Ron Everhart has done a remendous job of elminating the losing attitude that has pervaded the Dukes for so many years. With the addition of two transfers and a former Marquette signee, he has his team in position for an at large bid.

Rhode Island on the other hand has a myriad of weapons. Led by the sharp shooting of Jim Baron, jr. Rhode Island came from behind to beat the Dukes. Will Daniels provided the inside scoring with 28. Look for the Rams to be NCAA bound as they improved to 15-2.

Five teams are left without a blemish on their record. No one has been able to run the table since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers did it. Here is a breakdown of the five left and their chances.

North Carolina– They have depth and play very aggressive on every possession. The key will be that Tyler Hansborough stays healthy and out of foul trouble in every game. I don’t believe they can pull it off due to the number of true rivals they face in this league. I think Duke will pull it off at least once.

Washington State— A big win over USC last night, but the true test comes this weekend against UCLA. If they can get by UCLA than it is a possibility. All the media talks about how balanced they are which is code for no NBA players. However, I think they have at least one in their starting lineup. Due to travel and the tradition of UCLA I don’t think they have a chance to run the table.

Vanderbuilt– Kevin Stallings has done a wonderful job, but with trips to Florida and Alabama on the horizon I don’t believe it will happen. What is more startling is that they are playing at Kentucky this weekend and they are the favorites. Yes, you heard that right. I guess Tubby Smith wasn’t that bad. Look for Gillespie to get his first good win as the Kentucky coach and knock the Commodores from the ranks of the unbeatens.

Kansas— The Jayhawks are deep in the backcourt and the frontline play of Arthur and Jackson has been very good. If that continues you’re looking at a repeat of 1988. I believe that the Jayhawks have the second best chance of running the table. They have leadership in Russell Robinson and experience at every position. Also, outside of Texas and Texas A & M the Big 12 is not very good. I think they will run the regular season table.

Memphis— John Calipari has done what only Jerry Tarkanian was able to do at UNLV. He has recruited above the level of his conference. Give him credit. He could sell ice to eskimos. His team is so deep that his second string could start at most schools in the league. Also, Conference USA is the weakest of the leagues to compete against. Only one team in the league could give him a scare and that is Houston. If they play the perfect game they can beat the Tigers. I don’t see that happening. They are going to run the table in the league. Mark it down!