Big 12 power rankings Jan. 29
BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
1. Kansas (19-1; 5-0): Huge road test awaits at Kansas State on Saturday.
2. Texas (18-2; 4-1): Shook off some cobwebs in second half against Texas Tech.
3. Kansas State (17-3; 4-2): Biggest rival awaits with GameDay crew in the house.
4. Baylor (15-4; 2-3): Painful loss at home against Kansas State; travels to Texas.
5. Missouri (15-5; 3-2): Must protect its house as Oklahoma State pays a visit.
6. Oklahoma State (16-4; 4-2): Cowboys will try to steal another win on the road.
7. Texas A&M (14-6; 3-3): Seems the Aggies play everyone close; good and bad.
8. Oklahoma (12-8; 3-3): If only every game could be played at Lloyd Noble Center.
9. Colorado (11-9; 2-4): Buffaloes aren’t bad. They’ve shown up every game so far.
10. Texas Tech (14-6; 2-4): Red Raiders are 12-1 at home so far this season.
11. Iowa State (12-8; 1-4): If this keeps up, you wonder how long McDermott will last.
12. Nebraska (12-8; 0-5): Ranks first in scoring defense and and last in scoring offense.
Was this Scott Brooks’ All-Star ballot?
Fans have had their say concerning next month’s NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Top vote-getters at each position were announced as starters last week.
Now it’s time from NBA head coaches to select the reserves. The announcement will come around 6:15-6:30 p.m. on Thursday during TNT’s pregame show.
Asked Wednesday if he wanted to share his ballot, Thunder coach Scott Brooks politely refused. “No, too many guys would be against me,” Brooks said with a smile.
Coaches’ ballots were due at 2 p.m. Tuesday. A former point guard himself, Brooks would admit only the following: “I like guards. There are a lot of good guards having great years. I see a game through a guard’s eyes. There’s no doubt.”
As for his criteria, Brooks said, “It was a combination — stats, how their team is doing, feel, attitude, team guys. I’m not going to pick a guy who just worries about himself or statistics, players who are (thinking) agenda, not team.”
Coaches voted for seven players within their own conference — two guards, two forwards, one center and two wildcards — and they could not vote for their own players.
Here’s my guess on what Brooks’ ballot looked like: G Chris Paul (New Orleans), G Chauncey Billups (Denver), G Deron Williams (Utah), C Pau Gasol (Lakers); F Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas); F Zach Randolph (Memphis) and F Carlos Boozer (Utah).
Although Thunder forward Kevin Durant should be a unanimous selection as a reserve (except for Brooks, of course), Brooks said his team has gone about its business despite the pending good news.
“We have not talked about it,” Brooks said of Durant’s selection. “I know if it happens, he’s earned it doing it the right way. He’s worked extremely hard. He brings a lot of effort and he gets better because he works. If it does happen, it would be a great honor for him and our team.”
Chat Recap: John Rohde
AP hoops poll for Jan. 25
Kentucky is now the lone unbeaten in Division I men’s basketball, which explains why the Wildcats received every first-place vote in this week’s poll. With previous No. 1 Texas losing twice last week, there are only four teams with one loss. Three of those teams occupy spaces directly behind Kentucky in No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Villanova and No. 4 Syracuse.
Coming in at No. 12 is Brigham Young (20-1), which has won 15 straight since its 71-61 setback to in-state rival Utah State on Dec. 2 in Logan. A key game awaits the Cougars on Wednesday night when they travel to New Mexico (18-3), which is ranked No. 23 this week.
Here is how I voted in this week’s AP poll: 1. Kentucky; 2. Kansas; 3. Syracuse; 4. Villanova; 5. Michigan State; 6. Texas; 7. Georgetown; 8. Gonzaga; 9. Duke; 10. Kansas State; 11. West Virginia; 12. BYU; 13. Pittsburgh; 14. Tennessee; 15. Wisconsin; 16. Purdue; 17. Temple; 18. Mississippi; 19. UConn; 20. Vanderbilt; 21. Baylor; 22. Ohio State; 23. Florida State; 24. Georgia Tech; 25. Mississippi State.
Stuffing the ballot box
Fans sometimes get it wrong when they vote for the NBA All-Star Game. They have their favorite players, and they pick them. It doesn’t matter why. All that matters is who.
An example of fan abuse came in 1976-77, when the Denver Nuggets and three other ABA teams joined the NBA. Denver fans (myself among them) voted repeatedly for David Thompson, Dan Issel and Bobby Jones. As a result, all three started in the 1977 All-Star Game at Milwaukee Arena (The MECCA). The West, which was coached by Denver’s Larry Brown, won 125-124.
The clincher came on a blocked shot from Jones, which he turned into a game-winning assist with 35 seconds remaining. It was a good day for Denver.
This ballot-stuffing project pushed players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who was returning to his original NBA home), Maurice Lucas, Rick Barry and Phil Smith into reserve roles. Sure, it was wrong, but I loved it as a Nuggets fan who was 16 years old at the time. I have since grown up hating the ballot-stuffing process.
Starters for next month’s NBA All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, were announced Thursday night, and for the most part, fans got it right.
Philadelphia point guard Allen Iverson, who was traded and has played just 20 games all season, shouldn’t be playing, much less starting. Atlanta’s Joe Johnson should be starting instead.
To their credit, fans corrected themselves by eventually voting Steve Nash of Phoenix into the starting lineup. Two weeks ago, Tracy McGrady (six games and 7.7 minutes per game this season) was on the verge of starting as the second-leading vote-getter among the West guards.
Boston guard Ray Allen recently suggested a format change in All-Star balloting. Allen wanted the fans’ votes to count as 50 percent, with the other 50 percent divided evenly among media and players.
“I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they’d like to see in the All-Star Game, but I don’t think it should be 100 percent,” said Allen, a nine-time All-Star selection.
Allen also mentioned that coaches, who pick the reserves, also should be involved in selecting the starters. Allen also suggested increasing the total number of All-Stars from 24 to 30.
“You figure if there’s 24 players that get named to the All-Star team, there’s always 30 that deserve it, and you figure that’s six that should be on the All-Star team,” Allen said.
The NBA isn’t about to change its voting format, however. “We look at it as a great way to engage the fans,” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. “We think it’s a good system. A lot of times voting reflects career achievement as well as yearly achievements.”
This is why Charlotte coach Larry Brown supported Iverson’s selection. “I’ve seen Willie Mays and those older guys start based on what they’ve done in their career in baseball, and we’ve had that happen in basketball for years, guys that have made a contribution,” Brown said. “That’s why the fans are involved, and I think it’s kind of neat that they are involved. They support the league, they vote for their favorite players. I always look at a guy’s body of work.”
I agree with Allen. Let the fans vote, but give other parties a chance to correct poor selections (like Iverson).
Big 12 power rankings Jan. 22
1. Kansas (17-1; 3-0): League’s lone unbeaten has Missouri and Kansas State next week.
2. Texas (17-1; 3-1): Longhorns head to UConn, trying to rediscover their shooting touch.
3. Kansas State (16-2; 3-1): Wildcats prove they’re the real deal with victory over Texas.
4. Baylor (14-3; 2-2): If these athletic Bears protected the ball better, they might be unbeaten.
5. Missouri (14-4; 2-1): Tigers are fine at home, but need to figure out how to win on the road.
6. Texas A&M (13-5; 2-2): Snaps two-game skid by hanging on at home against Oklahoma.
7. Oklahoma State (14-4; 2-2): Cowboys head to the lion’s den with a visit to Kansas State.
8. Oklahoma (11-7; 2-2): No room for error at home for the Sooners; must steal road win.
9. Texas Tech (13-5; 1-3): Red Raiders snap three-game losing streak in win over Iowa State.
10. Iowa State (12-6; 1-2): Senior Marquis Gilstrap averaging 18.0 points in conference play.
11. Colorado (10-8; 1-3): Buffaloes struggle on the road, but are no fun to play in Boulder.
12. Nebraska (12-6; 0-3): Has a chance to post a signature victory at Missouri on Saturday.
Fear the Nets
The Los Angeles Lakers are 32-9, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 31-11 and the Boston Celtics are 27-12, but the scariest team to play in the NBA might be the 3-37 New Jersey Nets.
There is no disgrace in losing to the Lakers, Cavs or Celtics, but there is great disgrace losing to the Nets.
The first half of last year, folks wondered if the Oklahoma City Thunder might set an NBA record for futility. The Thunder started out 3-29 before closing with a 20-30 record to end up at 23-59.
This season, the New Jersey Nets are struggling like no pro team has ever struggled. With Monday afternoon’s loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nets have now lost eight straight, they’re 24.5 games out of first place and 15.5 wins shy of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are 2-17 at home and 1-20 on the road.
Spurred by the worst record ever to start a season (0-18), the Nets have a winning percentage of .075, which in turn translate to a losing percentage .925.
The worst 82-game record of all-time belongs to the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73 (.110). The Nets are on pace to end up 6-76.
Not only does the pressure mount for the Nets to win, it also builds for their opponent. Yes, the Nets will take some serious grief if they set the league record for futility, but so will opponents that lost to the worst team in NBA history.
So far this season, teams that have lost to the Nets are Charlotte, Chicago and the Knicks. The Nets visit the Ford Center on March 12. For the Thunder’s sake, let’s hope the Nets aren’t 3-61 and riding a 34-game losing streak. The pressure could be unbearable.
AP hoops poll for Jan. 18
The biggest question surrounding this week’s Associated Press men’s basketball poll was if North Carolina and Connecticut would remain in the Top 25.
The Tar Heels (12-6) stayed ranked, barely, coming in at No. 24. UConn (11-6) dropped out of the rankings, however. I dropped both UNC and UConn from my Top 25, replacing them with Northern Iowa and Vanderbilt.
As much as I wanted to include Big 12 reps Baylor and Missouri in this week’s poll, I couldn’t justify it after they lost to Colorado and Oklahoma, which had the league’s two worst non-conference records. Baylor stayed in the AP poll at No. 25, but dropped out of the coaches’ poll. With Texas playing at Kansas State tonight, there could be a new No. 1 in next week’s poll.
Here is how I voted this week: 1. Texas; 2. Kentucky; 3. Kansas; 4. Michigan State; 5. Villanova; 6. Syracuse; 7. Duke; 8. Pittsburgh; 9. Tennessee; 10. Kansas State; 11. Georgetown; 12. Gonzaga; 13. Clemson; 14. West Virginia; 15. BYU; 16. Wisconsin; 17. Georgia Tech; 18. Purdue; 19. Temple; 20. Mississippi State; 21. Mississippi; 22. Northern Iowa; 23. Vanderbilt; 24. Florida State; 25. Rhode Island.
Big 12 power rankings Jan. 15
BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
1. Texas (16-0; 2-0): One of only two unbeaten teams nationally; a Big Monday doozy awaits at Kansas State.
2. Kansas (14-1; 1-0): Jayhawks not quite clicking; center Cole Aldrich needs to contribute on offensive end.
3. Kansas State (14-2; 1-1): Wildcats have a chance to showcase their talents against the top-ranked Longhorns.
4. Missouri (14-3; 2-0): Tigers hang on at Texas Tech to post a rare road victory; now visit Oklahoma on Saturday.
5. Baylor (13-2; 1-1): Bears ran into a Buffaloes buzzsaw in Boulder; look to get back on track against Oklahoma State.
6. Texas A&M (12-4; 1-1): Nasty early schedule figures to derail the Aggies; lost at Kansas State last Tuesday, now at Texas.
7. Oklahoma State (13-3; 1-1): James Anderson should be ready for Baylor game; sorely missed in loss at Oklahoma.
8. Oklahoma (10-6; 1-1): Come-from-behind win in Bedlam stopped the bleeding, but Sooners’ healing must continue.
9. Iowa State (11-5; 0-1): Hung tough against Texas; now has more friendly schedule against Nebraska and Texas Tech.
10. Texas Tech (12-4; 0-2): Bounced back nicely against Missouri after huge loss at OSU, but now must visit Lawrence.
11. Nebraska (12-5; 0-2): Stuck with Kansas for 30-plus minutes, but faded late; can’t afford to lose at home to Iowa State.
12. Colorado (10-6; 1-1): Impressive victory against Baylor; looks for another home upset tomorrow against Kansas State.
AP hoops poll for Jan. 11
In the most turbulent all season in men’s college basketball, 14 teams ranked in the Top 25 combined to lose 16 games last week. Two previous unbeatens fell in No. 1 Kansas and No. 4 Purdue. Most of the upsets came in league play.
The Big 12 had four teams swap places. KU dropped to No. 3, but was replaced at No. 1 by Texas. Texas Tech dropped out of the poll from No. 22, but was replaced at the same spot with the debut of Baylor.
Here is how I voted in this week’s poll: 1. Texas; 2. Kentucky; 3. Kansas; 4. Michigan State; 5. Villanova; 6. Syracuse; 7. Purdue; 8. Duke; 9. Tennessee; 10. Georgetown; 11. Connecticut; 12. North Carolina; 13. Kansas State; 14. Wisconsin; 15. West Virginia; 16. Gonzaga; 17. Texas A&M; 18. Clemson; 19. Georgia Tech; 20. Pittsburgh; 21. Baylor; 22. Mississippi; 23. BYU; 24. Temple; 25. Florida State.
