Tilting at Windmills

Thought you could use a quick cruise around the Interwebs this morning while I’m drawing pictures of OU’s guards on this carton of half-and-half I’m using with my eleventy-first cup of coffee:

Doperbo over at Barking Carnival says DeLoss Dodds has a novel idea on how to fund the new turf at DKR: sell grass. Hasn’t that been tried before?

Actually, I have a better idea for raising the money, although admittedly I stole it from the Orange Aggies plans to recoup losses in the T. Boone hedge fund:

The KU guys over at Oread Boom Kings break the shocking news that Lerch-like stiff Cole Aldrich will return next season. Color me shocked.

Mizzou fan Boo Radley at Atomic Teeth compares Mizzou’s loss in another West Regional final to a Greek allegory.

For the recruitniks out there like our own atlantasooner, the Tortilla Retort’s Dedfischer updates the status of Tech’s 2010 prospects.

Lastly, the Red Dirt Kings have posted an interview with OU’s all-star hoops recruits Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin.

We’re not going to talk about it.

Take it one game at a time. The hurdles are getting larger as each successive one appears, so thinking about the hurdles still to come and the accolades that would come by surpassing them is silly when the first one is so important.

You don’t want to mention to Jeff Capel that he has a 300 bowling game in the works. You just want to wish him luck on getting another strike.

By the way … OU’s one game away from the Final Four, baby. Oops.

This afternoon’s game against Sobbin’ Roy and MJ’s alma mater would solidify Jeff Capel’s arrival on the national scene. What he’s done in three years at Oklahoma is nothing short of a miracle. It’s on par with the job Bob Stoops did when he took over OU’s moribund football program in 1999.

But beating North Carolina in the Elite 8 and advancing to the Final Four? Again … open that checkbook, Joe Cash, and pay the man whatever he wants. I’ll even chip in a hundy, if it helps.

Hijinx submitted a great, in-depth breakdown of what to expect from the Carolina blue, but at a high-level, most of us know what they bring to the table, mainly the two All-Americans Lawson and Hansbrough. The former is hands-down the best guard OU has seen this year and the latter the best big man on the Sooners’ schedule. OU won’t just have their hands full today … they’ll need two trips.

Hansbrough knows all about needing two trips ...

Capel will counterpunch with perhaps the best 1-2 combination UNC has see all year, too. Blake Griffin scares people just by walking in the door with his wrap-around Gargoyle sunglasses and God-knows-what lurking beneath his army jacket. Alliteration aside, when Willie Warren winds up, he’s as good as any 2-guard in the country. Also, if they play at their best (which we’ve seen lately), Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson can follow-up that jab-cross with an uppercut and knockout right hook.

The DOK’s Berry Tramel said it best in his blog today:

North Carolina is better than OU. Not a lot better, but a little. The Tar Heels would win a series against the Sooners. More elite players. More depth in general. But the NCAA Tournament is not a series. It’s a shootout. One and done or one and won.

The Sooners don’t have to play over their heads to win. In fact, play like they did against Syracuse, and OU will win.

There’s an electricity in the air, a palpable hue of anticipation.

A reminder: all aggies must be vaccinated for cholera, syphilis and shingles before play begins

It’s Bedlam III tonight. I, like a lot of other Sooner brethren, don’t necessarily like that B word because it gives credence to our developmentally-challenged little brother to the north. It’s especially grating in football when OU has pwned OSU since, well … ever.

OU owns the all-time record (124-89) in the series that dates back to 1908, or approximately the year Eddie Sutton first discovered the sweet sweet nectar that is whiskey. Capel is 7-2 against the Aggies and undefeated outside of that “hellhole” in Stillwater.

Tonight’s third installment of the 2008-09 OU-OSU series will be on about as neutral of a court as you can get. The Ford is approximately halfway between each campus (maybe a little closer to Norman) while crimson and pumpkin orange will be littered throughout the arena.

The stakes are high for both teams: OU is trying to get itself back on track after looking vulnerable since Blake returned from his concussion. OSU is trying to improve its seeding in the NCAA tournament, with the thinking that they’re probably already in thanks to a #25 RPI ranking.

Most importantly for the players, coaches and fans of both schools, though, this one’s for bragging rights. The scenarios for both teams are pretty much the same as we talked about in last week’s patently obvious OU-OSU preview:

Blake needs to get his … and he will. OSU will be trying to post him up with a cast resembling Billy Barty trying to peddle goods door-to-door. The Beast has 59 points and 34 rebounds in two games against the Pokes, and there’s no reason to think tonight will be anything different. Amazingly, though, he won’t be able to do it alone.

WHERE'S THE DOUBLE?!?

Taylor needs to get his, too. When OSU doubles with another post midget little person, he’ll cut to the basket and look for his li’l bro to feed him at the rim. His 15 and 7 were huge last week when OU’s backcourt was struggling. Speaking of …

Willie needs to find his. Since putting the team on his shoulders with games of 27 and 23 points in tough Blake-less losses to Texas and Kansas, Warren has gone 6-21 from the field for 18 points (including a big, fat donut against Tech) and turned the ball over 8 times in three games. Whether it’s a fight over a girl, rumors of going to NBA, or whatever … this is the time for the Big 12 Freshman of the Year to step up.

We know what OSU is going to do …

James Anderson needs to get his. The Big 12’s third leading scorer at almost 19 ppg has torched the Sooners for 52 points in two games this year, including dropping 37 from everywhere on the court in Norman last week. The Aggies have been riding Anderson for the last two months and if Capel insists on guarding the 6’6” wing with his own 6’6” wing in Crocker, I fear for how many Anderson will put up tonight.

Byron Eaton needs to get to the rim. When he’s not shopping for “husky” sizes in the Juniors department at Anthony’s, Eaton’s leading the Big 12 in free throws made. He’s a decent shooter inside the three-point line at 41%, but a horrid 29% from beyond the line. His raison d’être is get to the line and score with the clock stopped.

OSU needs to spot up their three-point shooters and bomb away. The best three-point shooting team in the Big 12 has three players shooting over 40% in Anderson, Obi Muonelo and the cherubic Keiton Page. If the shots fall for them, obviously OSU has a very good chance of upsetting the Sooners. Taking those long-range shots serve a dual purpose, though, in that they create long rebounds, away from Griffin’s mitts.

Let’s get this on.

Wednesday, ponderos. The men’s Big 12 tournament starts on Wednesday, NOT Thursday. They’re starting on Wednesday so the NCAA selection committee won’t have any excuses when they shaft one of the teams on Sunday since they will have chosen their teams already by the time the tournament is usually done.

Thank you, inside voice. Go back to whatever you were doing.

Yes, the 13th Big 12 men’s basketball tournament starts tomorrow at the Ford Center (home of yourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr OKC Thunder!) in idyllic downtown Oklahoma City. While you’re there, head over to the track if you have a moment. Hitting a quinella at Remington Park is dominance defined.

Personal grooming habits have been an issue with the Thunder's new cheerleader.

As always, the first round games are of interest to fans of teams who couldn’t get the first round bye, and those teams who await them on Thursday (not Friday). The team probably most disappointed to be playing on humpday is Texas, which thought it would be able to rest on Wednesday after beating a Griffin-less OU. That was before laying eggs at Stillwater and Lawrence.

Some interesting facts from Big 12 tournament history:

• Only four teams have won the conference tourney: KU (6), OU (3 straight), OSU (2), and ISU (1).
• The conference’s regular season winner has won the post season tournament 7 times: Kansas (5), OSU (1), Iowa State (1).
• This is the second time the Ford Center has hosted the Big 12 tournament. The last time was 2007 when Kansas won an 88-84 thriller over Kevin Durant and four other Longhorns.
• Kansas is the winningest team in the Big 12 tournament at 25-6. OU is second at 19-9.

2009 Big 12 Tournament Bracket

Here’s a quick, just past the boxscores look at the first round games:

#8 Nebraska (18-11) vs. #9 Baylor (17-13). The Huskers don’t have a player over 6’5” who logs significant minutes, yet they were able to beat much bigger teams like Texas and Mizzou in Lincoln, plus a 20-point face-rape of K-State. Nebraska will play about eleventy-million quick, ankle-biting guards who will harass and bug the shit out of you. That might be enough against Baylor, which after looking like they might be this year’s NCAA Cinderella early in the year, turned into the proverbial pumpkin mid-season. After beating K-State and running their record to 15-3, the Bears went to Norman and got absolutely blasted by the Sooners, beginning a 10 of 12 losing streak. The last of those losses was to Nebraska, in Waco, when all Baylor had to do was hang onto the ball in the last two minutes of the game to win. The Bears need Curtis Jerrells and LaceDarius Dunn to light it up for them to have a chance to win. Nebraska should be able to use its speed and ballhawking (they average 8.4 steals per game) to advance to a Thursday matchup with Kansas.

Sure do like pumpkins, Cotton.

#5 Texas (20-10) vs. #12 Colorado (9-21). The Longhorns got a great draw, despite losing their first round bye. They get to play the worst team in the conference in the first round, then are bracketed with K-State should they win. It wasn’t quite that easy when the Horns played the Buffs last, though. Second team all-conference gift receiver Damion James clanked two free throws at the end of regulation that would have won the game. James made up for it in OT, though, single-handedly outscoring the Buffs to beat them in Boulder. A.J. Abrams was on that night, pouring in 29, but UT had no answer for CU wing Cory Higgins and his 34 points. I don’t know what Barnes is going to do to counter Higgins this time around, but it needs to be something different. Still, I’m thinking Texas will be fine here and should get through to play K-State on Thursday with its front line of Pittman, Johnson and James overpowering the young, small CU post players. Colorado has to hope that Higgins goes ballistic again and Texas starts playing WTF ball like they have at times this season.

#7 Oklahoma State (20-10) vs. #10 Iowa State (15-16). This will be a de-facto home game for the Pokes. Considering this is a school that includes barrel-racing championships as a “we own you” stat, you can pretty much guarantee that there will be copious amounts of deer season-orange littering the Ford. OSU is likely already in the NCAA tournament, but at least one win in the conference tournament would seal the deal. The Cowboys are on a good run right now, winning six out of their last seven. They began that run with a 19-point win over the Cyclones in Stillwater. ISU has a mirror-image streak, losers of 11 out of their last 14. Two players to watch are ISU’s Craig Brackins (20.1 ppg) and OSU’s James Anderson (18.9 ppg), the second and third leading scorers in the conference, respectively. OSU’s supporting cast is much better, though, with three other players scoring in double figures. That coupled with the intangible of OK State playing in front of a home crowd should push them past ISU and into a Thursday Bedlam rematch with Oklahoma.

#6 Texas A&M (23-8) vs. #11 Texas Tech (13-18). The Aggies might be the most underrated team in the conference. They’ve quietly rolled up 23 wins, including their last six straight. A&M has signature wins against Mizzou and Texas, both of those at Reed Arena in College Station. Their big weapon is 6’7” wing Josh Carter, who’s hitting 40% from the three point line. His size makes him a tough cover at the 3, but he sometimes has trouble creating his own shot. A&M swept the season series against Tech, although both were tight, including the Aggies’ 6-point, foul-plagued win in Lubbock. Tech has gone from the team nobody wanted to play in the NCAA not too many years ago to nearly the Big 12 doormat, losing 16 out of its last 19. Raiders’ fans would like to say they’ve seen improvement since East Central Oklahoma dropped 167 points on them back in November, but they really can’t (unless you count not having a buck and a half scored on you again as an improvement). A&M wins this one easy and advances to play Mizzou on Thursday.