The College Basketball season kicks into conference slate of games after the competitive non-conference scheduling. Some teams came out of the non-conference with their heads held high and resumes boosted by big wins and reputation enhanced.
Currently Arizona are the No1 team in the country at 15-0. This could be surprising to onlookers considering the Pac12, only two years ago, had only two entries to the NCAA tournament. This year the Pac12 is a much better conference. Oregon (13-1) have utilised the college transfer system and have a high scoring offence, however, they suffered their first loss on the road at Colorado giving up 100 points in the process. The Buffaloes themselves rise to 13-2 in the conference.
As well as the Wildcats of Arizona who remain the only undefeated team in the conference, there is UCLA (12-4) and California (10-4). Don't sleep on Washington who are 9-6, but always play tough in conference play.
The best conference in America remains the Big10. Critics say it, fans say it and currently there are five teams from this conference in the Top 25; Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa and Illinois.
Last night in a conference opener, the Michigan State Spartans hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes, who were an undefeated 15-0. In a barn-burner, the Spartans won 72-68 in overtime. The Buckeyes ended regulation on a 20-3 run to force overtime. Spartans lost Keith Appling to cramps and miss Trice through injury. Buckeyes were led by Aaron Craft who is one of those special College performers, what he lacks in size he makes up for in graft and guile. Craft actually uses his brain, he banked an inbound pass off of an opponents backside to set up an easy lay up.
Year in, year out the Wisconsin Badgers hang around the conference standings. Many predicted the Badgers to have a down year as Bo Ryan rebuilt, however, he has assembled a vibrant group of players and unusually for a Ryan coached side they score heavily. Only four times have they scored under 70 points, they still have stellar defence as a 48-38 road win at Virginia can attest to, yet for Bo to have interior presence instead of being reliant on the three point shot is music to his ears.
The conference is ultra competitive, so expect a team to suffer four, maybe five defeats due to the intense nature of conference play. Yet the reason I mention the Spartans, Buckeyes and Badgers primarily is because they have a mixture of form, coaching and experience. The Spartans have Appling and will be strong once they get healthy, the Buckeyes have the x-factor that is Aaaron Craft and he Badgers gave got Bo, coaching is so important especially in conference play.
The ACC has new blood in the form of Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Duke, North Carolina and Maryland remain. Duke have prospective overall Number 1 pick in Jabari Parker, but Parker was pulled during the loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. Parker needs to find a bit more resolute nature to his play and find an answer against teams who will attempt to shut him down, as the Irish did. Coach K benched Parker hoping it would motivate the freshman to reflect on his performance. Duke have suffered three losses (Arizona, Notre Dame and Kansas) to ranked squads, no shame in that but losing the first conference game is never a good start.
How about a Cinderella? Although they are currently ranked 9th, the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones (14-0) are the current darlings of the College Basketball fraternity. A mixture of moxie, scoring and coaching has made them the current Big 12 big dogs over the established Kansas Jayhawks with Andrew Wiggins and Perry Ellis and Marcus Smart with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Tuesday night (7th Jan) they beat higher ranked Baylor 87-72 in a showcase for the dominance of DeAndre Kane (a senior transfer from Marshall) who has 30 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Helped by Melvin Ejim who had 18 points. Two more players along with the aforementioned, average over 12 points a game something Kansas cannot lay claim to. Whilst the Cyclones have no problem scoring they can also defend the ball well by controlling the paint. The Jayhawks meanwhile are struggling with scoring indicated by their four losses all coming by six points or less. That margin of error is costing the Jayhawks in terms of consistency and getting the best out of their players.
Other teams to note: Wichita State (15-0), Villanova (13-1), Creighton (12-2) and Southern Methodist (11-3) coached by Larry Brown, they beat UConn with Shabazz Napier 75-65 at home for a statement win in the American (former Big East) which includes Cincinnati (14-2) and National Chapions Louisville (13-2).
Showing posts with label Iowa State Cyclones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iowa State Cyclones. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Monday, 18 November 2013
Big 12 makes noise
The Big 12 is one of the NCAA powerhouses yet it suffers from an identity crisis across two major sporting events. In one, they are dismissed as an also-ran, a conference that does nothing to the bigger national picture. And in the other sport, it is helped by having a powerhouse team on a national stage.
Currently in College Football, Baylor is the only undefeated side in the Big 12, is ranked No3 in the nation behind Alabama (SEC), Florida State (ACC) and Ohio State (Big10). Baylor are playing a brand of attacking offensive football which made darlings out of the Oregon Ducks who are missing out on another National Championship tilt due to their loss at Stanford two weeks ago.
Baylor Bears average 61.2 points a game (1st in nation) but also concede only 17.4 (7th in nation); they score points for fun and teams find it hard to match them. They are led by coach Art Briles and quarterback Bryce Petty who has close to 3000 yards and 24 touchdowns. Admittedly, these numbers do not match say Johnny Manziel nor Jameis Winston (Flordia State) but they have not been helped by their schedule.
The Big 12 unlike the Big 10, SEC and Pac 12 is not split into divisions, every team plays each other once in the season and they do not have a Big 12 championship game between the top two teams, meaning you have to beat everyone and hope that everyone else messes up. Baylor back ended their schedule meaning they have three games left starting with at Oklahoma State who are ranked No10 nationally and are 9-1. A win against them will make Baylor the No 3 side in the nation and the team that steps in should the Crimson Tide or Seminoles lose between now and the end of the season.
This would be rich reward for Briles who has made some noise in the Big 12 without much national recognition apart from getting Robert Griffin III the Heisman two years ago. They have been consistent, the scheme works and makes stars of their young students. After the OK State road trip they are at TCU who are currently 4-7 and then a home game to Texas which will end the regular season.
Whereas, Baylor are struggling for recognition, you look at a conference opponent in another sport that makes noise regularly year-in, year-out. Led by the formidable Kansas Jayhawks, the Big 12 in College Basketball is rightly one of the hotbeds of the national conscious of the sport. Bill Self is chasing his 10th consecutive conference title in Lawrence and after defeating Duke last Tuesday by 11 points and with the expected No.1 player in the country - Andrew Wiggins - the expectation for that banner is high.
However, the other players in the Big 12 also play a big part. Oklahoma State have Marcus Smart returning when it was thought he would leave for the NBA which will benefit them hugely. Kansas State are always a solid exponent of conference play as well as the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. However, the biggest surprise may well come from Iowa State.
The Cyclones are one of those wonderful David stories, as a team that surpasses expectations thanks to the development of a program under a young unheralded coach. In this case Fred Hoiberg, who was highly ridiculed when given the job after the retirement of his father, Ames four years ago. Fred has overcome the shouts and jeers of nepotism to make a name for himself with the small program by taking them to the tournament last year and defeating Notre Dame in the first round.
The Cyclones also were one of the teams to give Kansas a real scare last year, with the Jayhawks only coming through in overtime on the road. This past weekend they recorded a 77-70 win over #7 ranked Michigan who reached the Final Four last year, this is probably the biggest win of Hoiberg's reign and will make people notice of their intention to be a Top 25 side in the nation.
A young coach doing great things with an unfancied unattractive side reminds you of Butler and Brad Stevens - yet Iowa State are helped by being part of one of the big noises in College Basketball.
Currently in College Football, Baylor is the only undefeated side in the Big 12, is ranked No3 in the nation behind Alabama (SEC), Florida State (ACC) and Ohio State (Big10). Baylor are playing a brand of attacking offensive football which made darlings out of the Oregon Ducks who are missing out on another National Championship tilt due to their loss at Stanford two weeks ago.
Baylor Bears average 61.2 points a game (1st in nation) but also concede only 17.4 (7th in nation); they score points for fun and teams find it hard to match them. They are led by coach Art Briles and quarterback Bryce Petty who has close to 3000 yards and 24 touchdowns. Admittedly, these numbers do not match say Johnny Manziel nor Jameis Winston (Flordia State) but they have not been helped by their schedule.
The Big 12 unlike the Big 10, SEC and Pac 12 is not split into divisions, every team plays each other once in the season and they do not have a Big 12 championship game between the top two teams, meaning you have to beat everyone and hope that everyone else messes up. Baylor back ended their schedule meaning they have three games left starting with at Oklahoma State who are ranked No10 nationally and are 9-1. A win against them will make Baylor the No 3 side in the nation and the team that steps in should the Crimson Tide or Seminoles lose between now and the end of the season.
This would be rich reward for Briles who has made some noise in the Big 12 without much national recognition apart from getting Robert Griffin III the Heisman two years ago. They have been consistent, the scheme works and makes stars of their young students. After the OK State road trip they are at TCU who are currently 4-7 and then a home game to Texas which will end the regular season.
Whereas, Baylor are struggling for recognition, you look at a conference opponent in another sport that makes noise regularly year-in, year-out. Led by the formidable Kansas Jayhawks, the Big 12 in College Basketball is rightly one of the hotbeds of the national conscious of the sport. Bill Self is chasing his 10th consecutive conference title in Lawrence and after defeating Duke last Tuesday by 11 points and with the expected No.1 player in the country - Andrew Wiggins - the expectation for that banner is high.
However, the other players in the Big 12 also play a big part. Oklahoma State have Marcus Smart returning when it was thought he would leave for the NBA which will benefit them hugely. Kansas State are always a solid exponent of conference play as well as the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. However, the biggest surprise may well come from Iowa State.
The Cyclones are one of those wonderful David stories, as a team that surpasses expectations thanks to the development of a program under a young unheralded coach. In this case Fred Hoiberg, who was highly ridiculed when given the job after the retirement of his father, Ames four years ago. Fred has overcome the shouts and jeers of nepotism to make a name for himself with the small program by taking them to the tournament last year and defeating Notre Dame in the first round.
The Cyclones also were one of the teams to give Kansas a real scare last year, with the Jayhawks only coming through in overtime on the road. This past weekend they recorded a 77-70 win over #7 ranked Michigan who reached the Final Four last year, this is probably the biggest win of Hoiberg's reign and will make people notice of their intention to be a Top 25 side in the nation.
A young coach doing great things with an unfancied unattractive side reminds you of Butler and Brad Stevens - yet Iowa State are helped by being part of one of the big noises in College Basketball.
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