Jhawk

Ha. We traditionally come out really strong when we play a big game. Now finishing strong is a different matter.

I'm sure there are plenty of kids who have smoked some dope and not gotten suspended while at UT.

Shaka knows UT is on the brink and he needs reasons to keep his job just in case he doesn't make the tourney. So he gets hard on players and says "if this guy wasn't such a bum we'd be in." The team/season/program is burning down around him and he is passive aggressively holding the match hoping no one thinks it is him that lit the fire.

We'll see, our schedules are pretty much a wash if we get by Tech. KSU: @KU, Baylor, @TCU, OU KU: KSU, @OSU, @OU, Baylor The only reason I say they are a wash is because we don't play well at Iba and @OU won't be a free one either. TCU on paper gives their schedule the nod for tougher though. We beat Tech and KSU and we have a share in my opinion.

I think KU comes out with something to prove. It doesn't look like Garrett will be 100% so I'm actually hoping he doesn't play. Can't have a net negative on offense and a hampered defender on Culver. For some reason, I just feel like KU will be really hungry with our backs against the wall. This probably means we get blown out but I'm hopeful that this team finally has the flow and the desire to win the big12. We've played pretty damn good since the KSU game, but then again we also played OSU & WVU with a decent challenge from TCU at their place. This game makes or breaks the conference streak barring some massive fuck up by tech and KSU. Bill Self will have his guys ready to come out hot like he usually does in big games.

He also put his shorts on backwards against KU.

Had a thought on paying players... Add up the value of everything a scholarship athlete receives (room, tuition, meals, tutors, gear, books, etc..). Let's say it is $200k (I know this depends on the school but do an average or something) and then make a rule that every team has 1-2 spots on the roster to pay a player that amount. The player isn't required to go to class or do anything but play. If they do go to class they have to pay their own tuition and books and everything. They have to pay for their meals and rent, just like an NBA player would (outside of team meals). For the other players on the team, you are locked into 3 years of school. Then, if a paid player doesn't end up being a 1 and done the school can nudge them out the door OR put them on scholarship. If they go on scholarship then they are effectively a freshman (because they didn't take classes), and they have to be at the school for at least 2 years (3-1=2). This type of player doesn't not have an extended eligibility period so if they are a bust and stay in school four years after not going to class for one then to complete their degree they have to pay for their last year and are not on the team anymore. This gets the top players paid, gets the guys who aren't able to go NBA to stay and be a part of the team for years, and levels the playing field by not allowing 5 top 10 players to go to one school unless they are going to stay in school. Obviously there are flaws in this, but it could be an interesting starting point for some real ideas.

Supposedly Nike paid zion $100k plus a house to wear them. That is if you take the testimony in the adidas case seriously.

I think the problem with ISU is that they don't play with any heart. They have some really nice pieces that are NBA caliber guys (even their tier two guys are Euro guys), but they are all just playing for themselves. It's kinda one of those deals where everyone thinks if they put up a good stat line they will win. But the truth is that no one on the team is taking it among themselves to go create a win. If they had 2-3 guys who would do the small things and get the stats then they would win the conference. There really isn't an emotional leader or a guy on the court who is going to win at all costs. Their problems are completely mental/effort related in my mind.

That's our NCSOS, SOS, and RPI doing work for us. We rank 3, 1, 1 in those. While I agree with you that we are overseeded, I understand the methodology and can't really disagree with it as it is stated. It isn't just bracketology either, if you look at http://www.bracketmatrix.com/ KU averages being ranked the TOP three seed. We are a 4 seed in four brackets and a 5 seed in two. We are a TWO seed by 12 brackets and a ONE seed in at least 5 brackets. A two and a one seed are terribly overseeded. 3 is probably taking on a little bit of projection that we will win all but one game going forward. The geography placement is just lazy in my mind. I can all but guarantee that we are going to be placed in Tulsa. Tulsa will be a ghost town if KU isn't there. It will sell out at least 2 sessions if they put KU there. What is baffling to me is that I've seen us placed in KC with both Tennessee and Kentucky as a higher seed than us. No way that happens with Louisville as a regional. Edit: I think if we lose the conference but go to the big12 finals we will be a 3 seed. If we win out and win the tourney then we will be a strong 2 seed. CBB on the whole is down.

What @Machinator said. I mean for the conference crown. If KU loses, we have to beat KSU and win out (@OSU, @OU, Baylor) which isn't unrealistic we would just need help to win it. If Tech loses, they have no control and need help. KSU is sitting really pretty right now. One of their top two competitors is going to be eliminated this weekend. If tech wins, they don't have to play them. If KU wins they have a chance to swat them back down. If they hadn't lost to ISU then they would essentially have this thing locked up. Saw this GIF on reddit right after the game...

Well that should do it. Loser of KU/Tech is on life support.

TCU is so thin you could make an argument that Robinson is their most important player. I think without Noi, or bane, or Robinson they are losing nearly every game on the way out. They wouldn’t have anyone to initiate offense without Robinson. I don’t know if they would get the ball inside the 3 point line without him. Tough way to end the season if Noi is out long term. We might be a 5 bid league. I don’t think we sniff 7.

One of the reasons the streak is important to me is because of HCBS’s tenure. I don’t think it will happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Self were to retire (or go NBA) once the streak ends. Especially in a year like this with all of the turmoil and potential NCAA problems. He’s stated multiple times that he isn’t coaching past 60 and he’ll be 57 this year. He could potentially walk away and leave the next coach with a stacked roster just like stoops. He’s accomplished everything he needs to accomplish to be the best coach in the history of the program known for producing the best coaches of all time. The only way I see him coaching past the age of 60 is if the streak is intact.

That’s a really good question. For me, once doke went down I knew we just lost our shot at a championship or final 4 which was my expectation (at least contend for a title). Which would mean that winning the conference is really all I have now. That being said, not getting out of the first weekend is the absolute worst. Ruins the whole tourney for me. I think the streak is more important than an E8 run. Bill self will be mocked relentlessly either way. He either can’t get past the E8 or he chokes the first weekend. At the minimum winning the conference gets us something.

Yeah I think it is more likely that each team drops one or two.

When it comes to the streak, which I assume is one of the primary reasons for this discussion, a tie is as good as an outright win. Which for KU means we control our outcome. Win out and we’re champs (partial). I guess tech doesn’t technically have control since they don’t play KSU.

The wade injury doesn’t look like a game changer now. Same foot as last time but not the same injury. Weber said soft tissue damage and it looks like he misses Monday at West Virginia. As long as they don’t drop that they could probably be cautious and rest him against OSU and then have him back for the Ku game in 2 weeks. If KU can get by tech in Lubbock then we control our own destiny. KSU and KU and tech all control their own destiny until the KU v. Tech game is over (assuming KSU doesn’t lose to at wvu). Everything is going to come down to the wire like most years. This year it feels like teams aren’t going to self-eliminate by dropping two in a row to start the last 5-6 games of the season.

Is wade really injured? That’s a game changer for the conference if he misses time.

It’s pretty awesome to see the lakers going after the waiver market and getting rejected by Kanter and Morris. I think the mid-tier players are realizing that they are just meat to be thrown to the lions on a lebron led team.

Couldn't you make the argument that this means there are more bid stealers out there? I think this makes the conference tourneys even more dangerous for teams like Houston and Cincy. If the entire conference is down that would mean that even the top teams are down relative to a great year. Thus, maybe anyone can beat anyone and we have a lot of auto-bids go to teams that aren't at the top of their conference. That's how I see a "weak bubble", I assume based on our banter in various threads you take it as the cream of the conferences won't be challenged at all?

The news that NY was bleeding cash and it was getting worse probably made the pressure to reduce the benefits package so great that Cuomo and his team had to ask for some of it back from amazon. The company having much larger issues to deal with (like running the business in general) would rather scrap the whole deal than spend 2 years trying to cut through the bureaucracy. I saw this a lot when I was working tenant rep in commercial real estate. Get major concessions out of state, have some concessions in the home state, new site gets worried, pull out saving money and time on the expenses and business interruption, still get local benefits at your current site. Oldest trick in the book and it worked nearly every time if you were moving 50 employees/job or more. Shit, even moving from one local municipality to another with 15 jobs would kill withholding tax for 5-10 years.

I’m not sure if I’d be surprised, but I really don’t want him to go. He is great for the league and should finish his career there. I don’t think his career is over.

And my point is that Texas is one of those teams playing themselves down despite their big wins and SOS. It isn’t going to get easier for Texas. I’m projecting, not talking about today.

I'm not concern trolling. I think straight up that UT doesn't get in with only 2 wins and I think IF they get in with 3 then they will be in a play in game. People in this thread, Derka especially, are saying UT is "WAY IN". That is the case if the season ended today. But that is a fantasy because the season doesn't end today and UT has more games on the schedule that it can lose than it can win. Counting past wins up to right now doesn't matter at all. Counting wins going forward does matter and they aren't there unless UT plays well out of its ordinary level for the rest of the season. I'm being told that UT has been playing great lately and it has netted a .500 record over the last several games. If that is playing well then UT doesn't have a chance at getting in. Nothing that has happened in the shaka era, or even just this season, suggests that UT can play at a level better than they are for the next 6 games. I'm not concern trolling, I'm calling my shot. UT doesn't get in with 2 more wins and I doubt they get in with 3. They need at least 3 wins and will only guarantee a spot with a 4th win (conference tourney).