Good draw for OU basketball — for awhile
Analyzing the NCAA bracket:
Oklahoma: The Sooners received an excellent draw. Playing in Kansas City and Memphis is as good as OU could have asked for. 350 miles to KC, 500 miles to Memphis.
As for the No. 2 seed, OU could have fallen to a No. 3 and had few arguments, though the committee got it right. OU turned out to be the overall No. 6 seed in effect.
The Sooners have an excellent second-round draw. Michigan or Clemson. Here’s a good way to judge that. Check out the other 7-10 matchups: Cal-Maryland, Texas-Minnesota, Boston College-USC. Off that list, playing Clemson is about as good as playing anyone else. Maryland, Boston College. Just a bunch of teams OU ought to be able to beat.
Now, once OU gets to Memphis, it’s a whole different story. Syracuse could be waiting, and the Orange is a load. Syracuse is playing well, it has that danged 2-3 zone, a bunch of ballplayers. Tough, tough, tough. And then North Carolina. The No. 3 seeds come down to a Big 12 duo (KU, Mizzou) vs. a Big East duo (Syracuse, Villanova). I say the Big East duo is better.
Oklahoma State: Well, the Cowboys could have used a slight break. I think they were in the 7-8 seed range and fell on the wrong side of that one. You’d much rather be a 7 than an 8, because an 8 means a second-round game against a No. 1.
But first things first. OSU-Tennessee is a good first-round game. I think the Vols are one of the better 9 seeds. Texas A&M was a 9 seed, so OSU wasn’t getting the Aggies. That means the other options were Siena or Butler. You don’t want any part of Butler, but OSU already has beaten Siena on a neutral court, back when the Cowboys weren’t any good. I would say Tennessee falls in the middle, so again, that’s all you can ask for.
Did OSU deserve to be a 7? Check out the 7′s: Texas, Clemson, Boston College and California. OSU’s only real beef might be with Cal, but again, we’re splitting hairs, really, with everyone between 5 and 8 or 9.
Geographically, OSU did OK. Dayton is about as close as anything other than Kansas City, where the Cowboys most certainly weren’t going. You can drive to Dayton if you want to. I wouldn’t want to, but you can. After that, it’s Boston, where the Cowboys have some history (that 2003 loss to Syracuse and Carmelo Anthony), but again, much to do before you get to Boston.
Can OSU beat Pitt? Not likely. The Panthers are one of those teams that will snap teams in two just for the heck of it. On the other hand, OSU is overpowered by most teams anyway, so what difference does it make if the Cowboys play a bunch of ruffians or not? Most everyone has a big interior edge on OSU.
Again, play the field. Would OSU rather play any of the other No. 1 seeds? Louisville, Carolina, UConn? Maybe Louisville, just to see if Rick Pitino would be off his game going against his protege’ Travis Ford.
Kansas: Jayhawks have a horrible first-round game. They are playing North Dakota State at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. North Dakota State is a newcomer to Division I, much less the NCAA Tournament, and the same can be said of the state of North Dakota. This is the biggest event in the state of North Dakota history. And most everyone in North Dakota lives on the Minnesota border. You’ve heard of Fargo, the biggest city in Dakota, but you’ve also probably heard of Fargo-Moorhead, the metro area. Moorhead is in Minnesota. Literally thousands of North Dakotans will make the trip to Minneapolis, and because it’s in the Dome, they call can get in.
Missouri: I don’t blame Mizzou for being mad that it got shut out of Kansas City. I’m not saying Missouri deserved to be there, I’m just saying I don’t MU for being mad. Going to Boise after winning the Big 12 Tournament has to be a letdown. On the other hand, the committee has a long history of showing us that winning the tournament is no big deal to them; it’s the individual games that matter, and Missouri beating Tech, OSU and Baylor wasn’t exactly a resume’ padder.
Texas A&M: Aggies play BYU in the first round for the second straight year. I don’t know what that means, but the best way to deal with it is to win, which A&M did last year.
Texas: The Longhorns got a great draw. Seeded seventh, they play Minnesota, which frankly is an iffy tournament team. Then No. 2-seed Duke await. Duke is notorious for losing as a big favorite in the second round. If A.J. Abrams gets hot, the ‘Horns could be in the Sweet 16, where Villanova would beat them 76-54.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Sooners do have a great draw, but I think they’ll lose to Syracuse in the Sweet 16. Orange(men) are playing well, and that 3-2 zone is always tough.
Jayhawks have had their share of first-round struggles of late, but I don’t think this falls into that category. ND State is the classic “happy to be there” team. They may have plenty of fans, but their inexperience will show. Bradley and Bucknell had been to the tournament before. It makes a big difference.