- Is it just me or does the Big East postseason conference tournament have as many games as the Big Dance? Seriously, the hoops festival in New York's Madison Square Garden is the nation's best simply because of where it takes place coupled with the number of games that occur from today through Saturday. It was only a year ago that Syracuse and Connecticut waged their multi-overtime thriller which some felt was the game of the 2010-2011 season.
- Bill Self's comments about the Big 12 tournament staying in Kansas City has apparently irked some Missouri fans. (Imagine that...) Let's be clear--what Self was publicly lobbying for was that the tournament stay in K.C. even though there will be no Big 12 school located in Missouri. Kansas' 57,000 alums in the Kansas City area, plus Kansas State's 20,000+, provides a built-in fan base. And, the infrastructure is in place--no metro area in the Big 12 region has the facilities, location and volunteer network to compete with Kansas City for this tournament.
- Frank Haith deservedly was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. In the coaches' vote, Haith lost out to Self and to Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg, who were named co-Coaches of the Year. Self revealed yesterday, in his press conference, that he voted for Haith. Kansas State's Frank Martin, on Kansas City talk radio, said that he voted for Self. So, assuming that the vote likely went four, four and two for Self, Hoiberg and Haith, how did the other votes likely shake out? I would speculate that the voting blocs lined up as: Self--Martin, Hoiberg, Billy Gillispie (Texas Tech) and Lon Kruger (Oklahoma); Hoiberg--Haith, Scott Drew (Baylor), Travis Ford (Oklahoma State) and Billy Kennedy (Texas A&M); and Haith--Self and Rick Barnes (Texas.) I'm assuming that Barnes would vote for his former assistant and that Drew would vote for anyone other than Self. Here's hoping that someone on K.C. talk radio will ask Haith the same question whenever he gets interviewed in the next day or two.
- VCU is back in the tournament, a year after making a Final Four run. Shaka Smart's team looked like it might be on the outside looking in, on Selection Sunday, but beat top-seeded Drexel in the Colonial Athletic tournament to gain the automatic bid.
- The most intriguing early round game in the Big 12 tournament will be Kansas State against Baylor on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. The Wildcats split their series with Baylor, losing late by two at home and winning in Waco. Baylor is a talented, deep team that under-achieved in the regular season--the Bears have the potential to win the Big 12 tournament and make a deep run in the NCAA tourney. Kansas State will be playing for seeding in the Big Dance as well as a potential semi-final match-up with Kansas. The early games in the tournament are always difficult to predict given the start time coupled with crowds which aren't as boisterous as later in the day.
- I get that the Big 12 coaches named him the sixth man of the year. But, how does Michael Dixon not even merit selection to the second or third team All Big 12 in the coaches' balloting?
- Kansas once again finished the Big 12 regular season with the best field goal percentage defense in the league--.382. That stat, which Kansas annually wins, is the biggest reason why the Jayhawks have won eight straight conference titles.
- Name the only Big 12 team who has a winning record against Kansas in the Big 12 postseason tournament. You can't, you say? Why, it's Baylor, which has a 1-0 record against the Jayhawks in the tournament. The only time these two teams have met was in the 2009 tournament in Oklahoma City, OK. Yes, 2009--the same team to which these current Jayhawks are most often compared.
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