Tough night for B12

[DobbsRover2]

Creme's Bracketology had 5 B12 teams making it to the Tournament, with Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa State firm candidates and West Virginia being more at the fringe, and Oklahoma State just out. Last night's losses -- OK St. at home to TCU, and WVU at Kansas with both teams at 2-5 in the B12 -- should put both teams out of projected teams category and leave the conference with only 4 out of 12 teams expected in at this point. In WCBB terms, that drops the conference that once considered itself to be the best to now dropping back from the other P5 conferences that all have 6 or more projected teams and into a snug group with the AAC. Nice to have them aboard.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Creme's Bracketology had 5 B12 teams making it to the Tournament, with Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa State firm candidates and West Virginia being more at the fringe, and Oklahoma State just out. Last night's losses -- OK St. at home to TCU, and WVU at Kansas with both teams at 2-5 in the B12 -- should put both teams out of projected teams category and leave the conference with only 4 out of 12 teams expected in at this point. In WCBB terms, that drops the conference that once considered itself to be the best to now dropping back from the other P5 conferences that all have 6 or more projected teams and into a snug group with the AAC. Nice to have them aboard.

True, the B12 may have difficulty getting more than 4 in the dance, but the American may have trouble getting more than 3 in, as East Carolina lost by 11 to visiting Tulsa yesterday. East Carolina has no Sagarin top 50 wins and is ranked 55 (Sagarin), 72 (Massey), 82 RPI) while corresponding numbers for West Virginia (46, 59, 61) and OK State (48, 69, 88). West Virginia has 2 top 50 wins, but OK St. has none. East Carolina's best win is the Ohio University Bobcats, whereas West Virginia beat Seton Hall. OK St. has no impressive wins (best is USC).

Neither West Virginia nor OK St. have any bad losses (defined as a loss vs. teams not in the top 100 RPI), whereas East Carolina has 3 bad losses (Cleveland St., Memphis, and Tulsa). West Virginia's biggest issue is their downward trajectory, as they are 4-6 in their last 10 games. If they recover, I think they make the dance. OK St. has a ton of work to do, so I think they cannot recover. East Carolina is facing very, very long odds, as the only remaining teams on their schedule that could provide good wins are UConn, USF, and Tulane. I believe they have no chance vs. UConn or USF, and if they beat Tulane, that hurts the Green Waves' resume. I see 2 locks for the NCAA's from the American, and Tulane gets in if they can avoid a loss from any team besides UConn and USF.

 

[DobbsRover2]

True, the B12 may have difficulty getting more than 4 in the dance, but the American may have trouble getting more than 3 in, as East Carolina lost by 11 to visiting Tulsa yesterday. East Carolina has no Sagarin top 50 wins and is ranked 55 (Sagarin), 72 (Massey), 82 RPI) while corresponding numbers for West Virginia (46, 59, 61) and OK State (48, 69, 88). West Virginia has 2 top 50 wins, but OK St. has none. East Carolina's best win is the Ohio University Bobcats, whereas West Virginia beat Seton Hall. OK St. has no impressive wins (best is USC).

Neither West Virginia nor OK St. have any bad losses (defined as a loss vs. teams not in the top 100 RPI), whereas East Carolina has 3 bad losses (Cleveland St., Memphis, and Tulsa). West Virginia's biggest issue is their downward trajectory, as they are 4-6 in their last 10 games. If they recover, I think they make the dance. OK St. has a ton of work to do, so I think they cannot recover. East Carolina is facing very, very long odds, as the only remaining teams on their schedule that could provide good wins are UConn, USF, and Tulane. I believe they have no chance vs. UConn or USF, and if they beat Tulane, that hurts the Green Waves' resume. I see 2 locks for the NCAA's from the American, and Tulane gets in if they can avoid a loss from any team besides UConn and USF.

Um, sure, but three teams for the AAC was two more than most predictions in preseason, and East Carolina would have been too huge a stretch having been at #118 last year for anyone to even think of, so that you are now actually putting them up for even remotest consideration is a huge boost for ECU and the AAC. I think most AAC supporters would be astonished and overjoyed to have three teams in the tournament and would have thought we were in looney land if the AAC got 4, and I do believe that 3 is closer to the B12's 4 than that 4 is to the rest of the P5's 6+ teams.

The B12 has been used to getting at least 6 teams in the Tournament, and it was 7 back when Texas A&M was in the conference in the glory years of 2011 and 2012. So this would be a severe drop for the conference if WVU does not get things turned around. For the AAC, having a mid-level team like East Carolina go to the NIT and have a run there is good as the Pirates will get a chance for a longer post-season as a team for a developing conference. Having teams like West Virginia and OK State in the NIT is a downer for a supposedly top conference like the B12. But that's just my opinion, just like I still think 9-0 is better than 8-5.

 

[baylorprof]

Watching the B12 teams come through so far, and especially with UT losing their best to an ACL, the B12 simply has no All American types on the scene.

In fact, I've been watching ladybear bball for 20 years and as for the conference teams coming through, I've never seen such poor defense and such hully-gully offense as this year. Don't know if it's athletic ability lacking or our coaching is just getting old and lethargic in he conference.

UT was supposed to be building a monster, and perhaps they still will, but even they were as random on offense as any team I've seen in a long time. Of course not many teams face the man defense we play and on that day vs. UT our ladies were juiced and their off-ball defense was making it impossible for UT even to make more than a few really good passes except around the perimeter.

We are a very DOWN league this year, and unless Coale really is better than anybody thouht they would be (they're mainly shooters, no inside power), then except for us or unless UT can find a renewed synergy without their best player, we're going to be watching a bunch of ugly bball all year.

Now EastTexas will get on to me and say that WE are very good, and we are, and getting better every time we take the court. But I try to take us out of the mix when talking about the league being down. Kim's getting about as much out of her soph/jr team as she can get, and so far it's pretty good bball.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Baylor is fun to watch especially with Davis, but the competition for them in the B12 is beginning to look not too dissimilar from UConn's in the AAC, since Texas, OK State, and WVU have all slid well back in the ratings from the beginning of the year. These things go in cycles usually, but it is indeed quite different from a few years ago when there was a nine-team round robin high level knockdown gauntlet being run in the B12, and the conference teams still came out of it in good shape for the Tournament.

 

[j66kicker]

Now EastTexas will get on to me and say that WE are very good, and we are, and getting better every time we take the court. But I try to take us out of the mix when talking about the league being down. Kim's getting about as much out of her soph/jr team as she can get, and so far it's pretty good bball.

Where has ETT been?

 

[DobbsRover2]

Think he got done in by Kim's stilettos. Shouldn't have been lying down court side when she went into one of her frenzies. Not the worst way to go though.