Big 12 Tournament: Quotables
Quotables:
“I’m not sure, but as of right now I am. I’ll sit down with Coach (Jeff) Capel and have conversations about certain things. That’s going to determine what I’m going to do. Pretty much right now I am.” – freshman point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin, on whether he will return to OU next season
“There was one NBA player on that floor tonight. That was (Oklahoma State’s) James Anderson. It’s an insult to players in the NBA for anyone on our team to be … for anyone to think that those guys are NBA players right now.”– Capel, on whether Mason-Griffin and freshman forward Tiny Gallon should declare early for the NBA Draft
“They played their butts off, and many kids would have quit after the three weeks they had (losing seven straight).” – Texas Tech coach Pat Knight on his team’s effort in an 80-68 loss Thursday to Kansas
”Pass.” — Kansas coach Bill Self, when asked to make some opening comments during his post-game interview session, which drew laughter
“We don’t care what comes out of the stands. We know there will be a lot of Jayhawks in here, but we’ve become a pretty good road team down the stretch.” – Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon, who played at KU and faces the Jayhawks on Friday in a 6 p.m. semifinal
Big 12 Tournament: Destinations unknown
Seven Big 12 men’s teams know they’re in the NCAA Tournament, they’re just waiting to find out where.
The only certainty is Kansas will be a No. 1 seed in Oklahoma City, no matter what happens Friday or Saturday during the Big 12 Tournament inside the Sprint Center. An announcement on how fans can purchase tickets for the Ford Center regional was made during the second half of Thursday’s KU-Nebraska game.
First-round destinations remain unknown for all other Big 12 teams, however. Kansas State presumably would head to the Ford Center with a good showing in the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor and Texas A&M could finish in the No. 3-4 range for a seed, which could be good enough to earn one of them a path to New Orleans and then to the Houston Regional.
But if the Bears and Aggies finish with the same NCAA seed, which team would get the nod for Reliant Stadium? Baylor is No. 8 in the RPI while Texas A&M is No. 12. The teams split the regular-season series, but could meet in the Big 12 Tournament final on Saturday. If that’s the scenario, perhaps the Baylor-A&M winner would get preferential treatment in the NCAA Tournament.
There’s no telling where the Big 12′s lower-seeded teams — Texas, Oklahoma State and Missouri– will be shipped.
First- and second-round sites:
March 18 and 20 - Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Providence and San Jose; March 19 and 21 - Buffalo, Jacksonville, Milwaukee, Spokane.
Regional sites:
March 25 and 27 - Syracuse and Salt Lake City
March 26 and 28 - St. Louis and Houston
Final Four: Indianapolis (April 3 and 5)
Big 12 Tournament: Day Two opener
For the opening tip between Colorado and Texas Tech late Wednesday morning, there were perhaps 1,000 fans in the stands.
For the opening tip between Kansas and Texas Tech late Thursday morning, there were perhaps 1,000 empty seats.
Even with an 11:30 a.m. tip on a weekday, there are obvious advantages with the KU campus being just 42 miles from the Sprint Center.
Roughly 200 Texas Tech fans were on hand Thursday. The Red Raider women’s team had an 11 a.m. start in the women’s tournament six blocks away at Municipal Auditorium. The Texas Tech band played the first half at the women’s game and the second half at the men’s game.
Despite having a huge advantage in the stands, KU held a very small advantage on the court, leading just 34-32 at halftime.
The Jayhawks closed out the game with a 15-5 run to win 80-68 for the program’s 2,000th victory of all-time. Kentucky (2,017) and North Carolina (2000) are the only other schools to win 2,000 games.
Big 12 Tournament: Quotables
“I think we should be in. We’re the only other (Big 12) team with a winning record.” — Texas Tech coach Pat Knight, on whether his 17-14 Red Raiders should be in the NIT.
“In high school, we were ‘the man’ and only cared about scoring. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t play defense in high school. I didn’t know anything about ball screens or how to defend them or hedging. But every day we’ve gotten better and we’re learning all the tools.” — OU freshman forward Tiny Gallon
“I think Willie’s out. I do. Hopefully, he comes back, but I think he’s out.” — Gallon, on whether teammate Willie Warren will return next season or declare for the NBA Draft
Big 12 Tournament: Struck by the Thunder
Not only is the Thunder the talk of the NBA this season, the team also has drawn attention in the Big 12 media circuit.
Several reporters covering the Big 12 Tournament have inquired about the Thunder this week. The most common opinion shared? “I love watching those guys play.”
Perhaps Big 12 media are lured because several Thunder players could still be in college — Kevin Durant (senior season at Texas); Russell Westbrook (senior season at UCLA): James Harden (junior season at Arizona State); and Byron Mullens (sophomore year at Ohio State).
Big 12 Tournament: Lower seeds rise
With its 75-60 victory over No. 5-seeded Missouri on Wednesday in the second game of the Big 12 Tournament, Nebraska became only the second No. 12 seed to win. Bottom-seeded Colorado beat Baylor in double-overtime two years ago at the Sprint Center.
Coupled with No. 9-seeded Texas Tech’s 82-67 victory over No. 8-seeded Colorado, this is the fourth straight Big 12 tournament at least two lower-seeded teams won opening-round games.
There were several stunned faces in the crowd and on media row during the NU win. “The people that follow us know our season. It’s been a tough season,” Cornhuskers coach Doc Sadler said. “I think for you all, that’s the first time that you’ve seen us play this year.”
Wednesday’s loss could drop Missouri down to a No. 9 or No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. “I think we’ll be fine,” MU coach Mike Anderson said.
Big 12 Tournament: Bedlam tranquility
Last year’s Bedlam game in the Big 12 Tournament drew a split crowd of 18,000 inside the Ford Center.
The beginning of Wednesday night’s opening round of Bedlam drew a crowd of roughly 4,000. It was a mix of Big 12 fans, but Oklahoma State supporters outnumbered Oklahoma fans at least two to one. By halftime, the Sprint Center was three-fourths full with the day’s final game between Iowa State and Texas.
Big 12 Tournament: A chance to listen in
There was a sparse gathering at the outset of the opening game in the Big 12 men’s tournament. One benefit of no crowd noise was being able to listen in on the Texas Tech huddle at the Sprint Center.
Red Raiders coach Pat Knight shared a salty chat with his team in the early going. Though it was only a 30-second timeout, Knight managed to get off an impressive string of expletives before the horn sounded.
His team had it coming. The Red Raiders played atrocious defense early, falling behind 13-5 at the 14:46 mark. Evidently, Knight got through to his team, which had pulled ahead 35-31 at halftime.
The crowd gradually grew from maybe 1,000 people at the opening tip (11:30 a.m.) to roughly 12,000 by the end of the game, which Texas Tech won 82-67.
Big 12 Tournament: Coach(es) of the year
Several publications throughout Big 12 territory select their own all-conference teams. The only consensus for 2010 Big 12 coach of the year is that there was no consensus.
The Associated Press, the Big 12 coaches and the Kansas City Star selected Kansas State’s Frank Martin. The Austin American-Statesman and Fort Worth Star-Telegram chose Baylor’s Scott Drew. The Dallas Morning News and San Antonio Express-News picked Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon. The Oklahoman tabbed Bill Self of Kansas.
All four coaches have first-round byes at this week’s Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“They’re all good picks,” said veteran Star sports writer Blair Kerkhoff. “A case can be made for each one of them.”
In the preseason Big 12 poll, which was voted upon by the coaches, KU was picked first and finished first; KSU was picked fourth, finished in the three-way tie for second and as the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament; Baylor was picked 10th, finished tied for second and as the No. 3 seed; Texas A&M was picked fifth, finished tied for second and as the No. 4 seed, despite a season-ending injury to guard Derrick Roland in December.
Big 12 Tournament: Notables
SMALL TURNOUT: Tuesday’s practice sessions were free and open to the public inside the Sprint Center. The eight teams that practiced drew modest gatherings.
No. 5-seeded Missouri topped the list with roughly 500 fans. No. 7-seeded Oklahoma State drew roughly 150 fans and No. 10-seeded Oklahoma had probably half that many.
Texas (No. 6), Colorado (No. 8), Texas Tech (No. 9), Iowa State (No. 11) and Nebraska (No. 12) also drew less than 100 fans each.
TIDBITS: This is the lowest Big 12 Tournament seed ever for the No. 10 Sooners, who were a No. 9 seed in 2007, which was coach Jeff Capel’s first season at OU. Oklahoma State has ranged from a No. 1 to a No. 9 seed in the tournament …
The best first-round Big 12 Tournament record belongs to OSU at 7-0. Texas A&M has the worst first-round mark at 1-10. That record will remain the same, however, because the No. 4-seeded Aggies earned a first-round bye this week …
Two teams have a good chance to advance to their first-ever Big 12 Tournament championship game — Kansas State and Texas A&M …
Kansas leads the way with six Big 12 Tournament titles. OU has won three titles and OSU has won two, which came consecutively from 2001-05. Texas is 0-5 in title games.
