I haven’t watched any of the bracketology shows just yet. Plus, I haven’t dissected each region and weighed the possible matchups as the tournament unfolds.
I do know OU was named as an 8th seed which is bullshit…and that Oklahoma State is an even bigger dose of bullshit being named as a 4th seed.
I had OU as my 25th ranked team primarily because they beat West Virginia twice, beat Kansas, beat Texas, and beat SEC champion Alabama in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. OU was my first seed amongst the four No. 5 seeds in the bracket.
To me…of all the teams in this tournament…Oklahoma State with Cade Cunningham got the worst treatment of any team in the field by being named a No. 4 seed as opposed to a three or two seed. The committee ranked West Virginia and Arkansas both ahead of O State which is preposterous given the fact O State was a collective 3-1 against these two teams during the season — and of course have Cade Cunningham.
So what I do on Sunday night before I fill out my bracket is simply rank my Top 16 teams in America and then sleep on it before I tackle the glorius mecca of hoops nirvana…the NCAA Tournament bracket sheet. I might even watch the Anthony Bourdain Waffle House episode multiple times as just to heighten the sensation for me.
This is my Top 16 teams after the completion of Sunday’s games:
1 Gonzaga
2 Illinois
3 Michigan
4 Iowa
5 Baylor
6 Texas
7 Oklahoma State
8 Alabama
9 Houston
10 The Ohio State Buckeyes
11 Kansas (They won’t be much since this is being played in Indiana instead of in or near Lawrence. No sixth man in the last four minutes. No Ed Hightower. Not that I’ve dwelt on this for thirty-three years.)
12 Purdue
13 Florida State
14 Colorado (maybe my dark horse after I see their draw)
15 Texas Tech ( another dark horse I like)
16 Arkansas
Good luck with your brackets and may the Madness begin after a two year wait to play One Shining Moment.
1988 Kemper Arena… The scene of the crime. I’ve never been the same.
Cade Cunningham’s twenty-five second half points kept Oklahoma State within reach of their first Big 12 title since Eddie Sutton, but in the end it was too of much of Matt Coleman and Jericho Simms as the Longhorns won their first ever Big 12 basketball championship.
Coleman had a career night with thirty points, but Simms…. a tough agile big had a career game as well with a 21 point, 14 rebound double double.
From the midway point of the first half the Longhorns controlled the game and led by ten points at half. But never once did Mike Boynton’s Cowboys wrest the lead from the Longhorn despite Cunningham’s second half heroics.
In fairness to Oklahoma State it was the third tough game in three straight days while Texas got a day off due to Kansas pulling its team due to Covid ramifications.. Clearly…an advantage for Texas as they looked the fresher and quicker team the entire game.
The NCAA Tournament people are going to have implement some changes in their tourny in the name of competitive equity as the sixty-eight teams move onto Indiana. I know they will have four extra teams in a reserve pool if teams have to drop out, but you can’t have a situation like the one in Kansas City where the hotter team O State beats Baylor…while Texas literally got a bye. But Texas is a quality team and I would not at all be shocked to see the Longhorns in a regional final.
I’m sure Mike Boynton and his team felt as if an oppportunity to create some history of their own was missed yesterday.
But here’s the real story of the game…O State didn’t have one made three point basket in the first half. That can’t happen again moving forward. Avery Anderson, Rondel Walker, and Bryce Williams have to score the ball and make some three point shots to give Cade some scoring balance punch.
I hope the comiittee takes into the account the scheduling disadvantage yesterday and moves O State no lower than a No. 2 seed.
Depending on the outcome of Illinois-Ohio State Big Ten Title game… I would think two Big Ten teams plus Gonzaga are in the Final Four. If Illinois beats Ohio State…then if I were on the commitee I might bump Baylor to No. 5 and have three Big Ten teams in the Final Four.
I’d have Baylor, O State, and Texas as No. 2 seeds. I’m not sure who I’d give the other No. 2 seed to just right now. But I would go very heavy on seeding with the Big Ten and Big 12.
OU… I would guess–will be either a No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
I think Sam Presti just made a smart trade which will help the Thunder down the road at some point.
Diallo is a good kid who won the dunk championship and was a fan favorite of the Thunder fanbase. But he was on an expiring contract and quite frankly the Thunder didn’t need him for two simple reasons. Those being…Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams.
Presti already has two intangible guys in his his top ten players on cheaper deals than it would have cost to resign Diallo. Plus, Diallo struggles shooting the ball at times and his strengths are replications of what Dort and Williams can give the Thunder every night.
I watch a lot of college basketball and I’m sure most who casually follow the Thunder don’t even realize Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk played for the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12. This will be the last time I spell that name out on my blog…hence moving forward this 6’7″ swingman will be referred to as Svi. I like his game. Thumbs up, Sam Presti. Be able to shoot a basketball isn’t a bad thing.
He can shoot the ball and indicates to me Mikey Muscala who is on his option year is probably not going to be a member of the Thunder too much longer. Plus…Presti got Detroit’s second round pick in 2027.
I wish the best for Diallo and one would think maybe he and Jerami Grant will have some fun trying to make the Detroit Pistsons a better team. Hypothetically speaking…if you picture Cade Cunningham alongside Jerami and Diallo—I think the Pistons could have a Renaissance of sorts and would sell plenty of tickets.
Just a feeling, but at this point I’m guessing Cade will either be a Houston Rocket or Detroit Piston or Timberwolf when all this is concluded this summer in the NBA draft.
The interview above is Mike Boynton fourteen months ago after a tough regular season loss to Baylor. It’s vintage Mike Boynton. This was a tough moment after a loss to Baylor. This isn’t one of those feel good moments. This is what coaching is about. You hurt for your team.
No excuses. Just a frank appraisal of his team and their need to keep ‘chopping the tree’ to get where they want to be eventually.
Today is that day to chop that tree down so to speak as his team is not only playing for the Big 12 championship, but in my estimation a No. 1 regional seed in March Madness.
Here’s why. With a win O State would enter the Tournament with ten Top 25 wins which would be the most in the country. They would enter the Tournament as champion of the toughest league, plus the hottest team in the country. O State in the last month has done more than Gonzaga has done the last two years combined. Michigan will be tough. So will a couple of other Big Ten teams plus, Chris Beard’s team isn’t one I’d sleep on either.
If O State can get past Texas, which won’t be easy, they’ll be the team on the cover of USA Today on Monday with their coach Mike Boynton front and center as the lowest paid coach in the Big 12.
If I were the people in Stillwater who run that atheletic department I’d have a new contract waiting for Mike Boynton on Monday with a bonus attached for this season as well. I would put the cheap ass ways of Mike Holder in my rear view mirror and make sure I keep Mike Boynton.
How ironic that today in Kansas City we have two young black coaches in the Big 12 Finals. In fact…the only two black head coaches in the conference in Mike Boynton and Shaka Smart.
This in fact is how Shaka Smart four or so years ago became the head coach at Texas after his then VCU Rams became the Cinderella darlings of March Madness and advanced to a Final Four. Again…if I’m the people in Stillwater… I’d put my Mullet King mentality to the side and pay Mike Boynton.
This will be a war today. If you watched the Texas win over Texas Tech you know this will be a knife fight last guy standing. A showcase of what Texas high school basketball has become to the Big 12 conference. Why in fact—the tournament should be moved back to Oklahoma City and Texas.
I bet Fran is already up like me at 5:00am because he’s jacked about this game. I can’t sleep and I’m an OU fan for godssake.
But here’s the thing…if I’m going to a knife fight on a basketball court…I like my chances with Cade Cunningham holding the knife.
Coach Sutton would be very proud of what he’s seen from Mike Boynton’s team so ‘far’…now finish.
I’m not going to recap the game right now because I’m going to watch the women play Bedlam III.
In no way am I shocked O State won this game. Just read my preview from this morning. But I am surprised to the degree in which the Cowboys went on a 13-2 spurt to end the game.
Cade…dude….You’re better than Danny Manning and these guys around you are much better than the Miracles. Not even close.
I called my O State writer buddy this morning and told him of my thought if that O State beat Baylor and then won the championship game they should be the team from the Big 12 with the No. 1 Regional seed.
He tried to calm me down and bring me off the ledge. But I think we all know know right now Mike Boynton’s team is one win over Texas from having this program in an Eddie Sutton state of mind.
It was a healing day in Minneapolis for the family of murdered George Floyd. I know Bob Jackson has a smile on his face right now up in lawyer heaven.
This case was so pathetic in its mixture of cowardice and racism…this would have been an instance in which Bob would have enjoyed prosecuting this piece of gutless human trash who I will not mention by name on my blog.
I’ll have more to write on this after the criminal verdict is rendered. I can assure you those within my orbit who voted for Donald Trump twice should stay away from me for at least a month. Don’t say a word to me…as in not one word about your wonderful Mr. Trump and his followers.
The committee could possibly have two No. 1 seeds playing each other at 5:30pm this evening inside the T Mobile Sprint Arena.
Baylor seems to have gotten its legs back under itself after Covid halted their season for almost three weeks while red-hot Oklahoma State and Cade Cunningham are currently the ‘it’ story in college basketball.
Last Thursday in Waco—the Cowboys lost a competitive game to the Bears without Cade Cunningham and Issac Likekele. But both will be on the court for O State on Friday evening inside of Phog Allen East.
You wouldn’t think the zebras would have a preference in this game since Kansas isn’t playing so this should be a great college basketball game with the entire country of hoops fans taking notice as we near the cusp of March Madness.
In a sense I consider this the Big 12 Championship Game even if Kansas advances because I’m almost certain the zebras will be punitive against the other three teams with the home cooking the Jayhawks always get in this event.
The Big 12 needs to start moving the tournament around again. The event shouldn’t be slanted to Kansas in such an obvious manner. Texas Tech was the last Big 12 team to make the Final Four or the championship game. Let’s start rewarding all of the parents of Texas high school players in the league and start rotating the event south.
I know–the Big 12 football game is played at Jerry’s World and the Big 12 baseball tournament is played in Oklahoma City. But at the least with the Big 12 becoming such a nationally prominent hoops league I’d like to see the event played in Texas and Oklahoma City again as it once was before the Thunder dominated the basketball scene in the region. Rotate it between Kansas City, OKC, and a Texas city on a regular basis.
Kevin Durant is gone and is back East on the Brooklyn Thunder. James Harden, Jeff Green, Andre, Timothy and even Blake Griffin are there with him. The OKC Thunder haven’t won a first round series in four years with Russell Westbrook, Paul George, or Chris Paul on their roster.
The Thunder aren’t winning one anytime soon in the forseable future. It would be nice for the Big 12 to give the other programs minus Kansas a shot at winning its post season tournament. OU has won Big 12 football championship games in both Kansas City and San Antonio…why can’t the Jayhawks be asked to do the same.
As far as this game tonight…it will feature the best two players in the league in Cade Cunningham and Jared Butler. It will also showcase the two deepest most balanced rosters in the league… with Texas right there as well.
Baylor’s coach Scott Drew has always taken heat for his bench management skills and this will be his chance to show if he’s the real deal…a complete head coach who can take the Baylor mens’ program to the same level of the nationally elite Lady Bears.
For Mike Boynton…he’s a win or two away from becoming the hottest young coach in America if not already. If the Kentucky or Duke or North Carolina jobs opened I wonder if Coach B would get a call. His alma mater South Carolina just finished a miserable 6-14 Covid affected season by losing 76-59 to Ole Miss. There’s talk maybe Frank Martin who Mike Boynton worked for could possibly be in trouble.
But I don’t think right now that’s on Mike Boynton’s mind. Boynton is old school and he won’t say anything but nice things about his old boss Frank Martin.
Mike Boynton has worked his tail off for four years to have the Oklahoma State program in this game tonight with this much on the line.
I haven’t even looked at the spread. On a neutral floor…I’d have it as a pick ’em game…maybe Baylor by 1.5 just because they’re an older team.
Since the Baylor vs. Gonzaga game scheduled earlier this year was never played due to Covid…this all the sudden has become the game of the year minus maybe the Michigan-Ohio State game.
What a great time to be a Big 12 hoops fan with not only seven teams with a chance to make the Sweet 16, but with nine players from the league projected to go in the NBA’s two round draft this summer.
As Fran Fraschilla of ESPN often says, “The state of Texas has become a nationally elite hotbed of college high school basketball talent.”
This should be a great game. I envy Fran and still remember how kind he and Ron Franklin were to me on that day in Norman back when Durant was a freshman at Texas.
For the first time in the Thunder era I didn’t watch one minute of the live action of a Thunder game. So for that reason instead of finding the highlights of tonight’s game on video …I’m just calling it in putting this video of a preseason game on my blog instead.
It’s so disheartening…with Cade Cunningham virtually in Sam Presti’s lap…the GM who traded James Harden for Jeremy Lamb and Alex Abrines and then allowed Kevin Durant to walk is going to let the Houston Rockets or Minnesota Timberwolves lose their way to the rights for Cade. It’s just so f–king Oklahoma.
Dallas didn’t help that’s for certain as on the second night of a back to back they sat both Luka and Porzingus on the same night. I wonder if Mark Cuban is colluding with the Rockets for some sort of quid pro quo.
Poku fresh from his reign of dominance in the G League had a decent night with a 14 pt, 8 rb, 3 assist night in thirty minutes of action.. He was +4, 4-11 shooting the basketball, 2-6 shooting the three, and 4-4 from the line. So good for Poku. Eat your fruit and veggies, buddy.
I watched the last Big 12 quarterfinal with Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns edging Chris Beard’s Texas Tech Red Raiders by a 67-66 count. Just a great day of Big 12 Tournament action. I’m somewhat whipped and frazzled from all the hoops. All four games were won by the Vegas favorite and were competitive single digit games. Pretty much the games were a microcosm of the regular season I would say.
I need a song like this after the hosing OU took in the final four minutes from the Jayhawk friendly zebras.
Austin Reaves…don’t feel bad, buddy…Bill Russell, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Lebron wouldn’t win a game played anywhere withing thirty miles of the Lawrence campus either.
Billy did beat the Jayhawks once in the Big 8 Tournament at Kemper with the Skeeter Henry group in a blowout so one-sided that even the locale refs couldn’t screw OU.
You’re not going to win close games at either Phog Allen Field House or in Kansas City unless it’s a blowout. The whistles never go the way of the visitor in close games played within thirty miles of the Phog.
Anyway…proud of the OU players for fighting back froma 23 point deficit to within three points late in the game. That’s something to build on going into March Madness which thankfully is going to be played in Indiana instead of Kansas.
Go Cade!
I’ve got a little angst after those two no calls on Austin. I need a second song by the girls.
What an exciting game which had a little bit of everything attached to it to the very end.
O State survived itself and West Virginia to escape with a hard fought 72-69 win to advance to the Big 12 semi-finals against the winner of the Baylor-K State game.
Mike Boynton’s club was pretty much horrible the first twenty-five minutes, but pulled it together enough to overcome a second half double digit deficit against the Mountaineers.
This is what I mean about Mike Boynton and his ball club…they embrace the same dogged mental toughness Boynton had as a point guard at South Carolina.
Next guy up. Forget the last turnover and make a play. Make a sequence of them. And that’s what happened in this game as the Cowboys went on a second half 16-3 spurt which was just enough for the Cowboys to claim their sixth straight win with Cade in the lineup coming down the stretch of the goal acheiving portion of the season.
This was O State’s eighth win of the year over a Top 25 ranked team. O State and Iowa lead the nation in that regard.
I’ll write this on my blog…if O State beats Baylor tomorrow in the semis…I think they get a second regional seed in the same bracket with Gonzaga.
If they win the tournament—the committee has to think about placing two Big 12 teams as No. 1 regional seeds because the way a team finishes is a significant consideration with the committee.
We’ll see.
Great way to start to start the Big 12 quarterfinals.