Surprise! OU Week Basketball Hate!

The Big 12 coaches voted on the preseason-so-why-does-it-matter-but-we-care men's basketball rankings, and we came out pretty close to the top. It's amazing to me that both Kansas and Texas can lose star players year after year to the NBA and still continue to be the class of the Big 12. I'm starting to believe that the Texas basketball no longer "rebuilds, they  reload," just like Texas football.  And you'll never guess who came out first. Jerks (keep feeding the hate fire).

Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
t3. Baylor
t3. Kansas
5. Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma State
7. Missouri
8. Kansas State
9. Nebraska
10. Texas Tech
11. Iowa State
12. Colorado

Googlology: Final Four (4/5)

Rules of the Game

Games: (Results)

No. 1 Kansas at No. 1 North Carolina --- (449,000 to 1,110,000)
No. 1 UCLA at No. 1 Memphis --- (491,000 to 298,000)

Winners:

North Carolina and UCLA

Ordinarily I wouldn't be too interested in non-Longhorn basketball games, but considering it is the Final Four and the last oft-televised collegiate sporting event for too many days to come I will be watching every second. I was reminded of how brutal the coming months are going to be, as I watched a Big 10 gymnastics meet on ESPN yesterday.

AAS sheds (no) light

The Austin American-Statesman has some more comments about the possible futures of our basketball stars. According to the Statesman:

"I'll get away from everything for a while and then get back at it," said sophomore Damion James, stung by the defeat. "We have a chance to be the No. 1 team in the country next season."

Good, good, I like how that sounds. Keep saying "we" Damion, more "we" is better.

Will Augustin return for his junior season at point guard? He's a possible top-15 NBA draft pick, according to two NBA scouts, one from each conference.

NOOO! How dare you begin the ear whispering, you filthy scouts. You've already taken so many skilled football player's from us early, even though they initially said they'd be back.

"He could just as easily be in the top half (of the first round) as the bottom half," said one scout, adding that draft stock can't be determined until all underclassmen and foreign players have made their final decisions.

Oh wowzers, with the possibility of landing lower first round Augustin will no doubt want to stay and improve. Sigh.

"Damion says he's coming back," said Rob Lucero, a friend who was an assistant coach at Nacogdoches High when James was on the team. "I think he's happy, and he needs to get better."

Damion James you need to talk to your buddy D.J. Augustin and tell him how awesome not making $10 million a year and going to class everyday is. Having the two D.J.'s around next year would be fantastic, but after all the sports stars we've seen renege on promises to stay around, I honestly don't expect either of these guys to pass up the draft. I'm essentially ready to accept the fact that these guys might just belong in the NBA; of course I will still be a huge fan of theirs regardless of what they decide. 

NBA speculations begins

Not even a day after our Hurtin' in Houston, speculation has already begun about the future of D.J. Augustin. Augustin has said before that he definitely plans on staying for school, but the Daily Texan makes him sound much less certain (read: time to make some paper).

Augustin said after the game that he hasn't made a decision about jumping up to the NBA.

"I'm not even thinking about that," he said.

[...]

Texas' year is over, and Augustin's career as a Longhorn might be too.

TV sports drought begins

Even if basketball isn't my favorite sport, I love our basketball team and today's game was very hard to watch. 85-67 is certainly not how I imagined this season ending, but Memphis has to be given credit for being an extremely talented basketball team. I'm not sure what I was expecting out of this game, but I know I was at least hoping for a neck-and-neck triple overtime game for the ages. Worse still, is the fact that my least favorite part of the year has started: college sports drought. Sure there is baseball going on, and I will be going to as many of those games as I can, but baseball is much harder to get excited about when MAYBE 1 in 10 games makes it on TV. Oh well, let the NBA speculation begin. How scary would our basketball team be if we kept everyone (doubtful)? Here's a good memory to improve your spirits though:

Totally Ridiculous Cross-Sport Assessment: Memphis

Basic rules of the metaphor
Two pointer = Rushing first down
Commonalities: bread and butter positive offensive action for any team, not as game changing as...

Three pointer = Passing first down
Commonalities: generally speaking a larger gain, momentum swing

Post game = Running game.
Commonalities: lower risk, lower reward; requires a lot of unglamorous work by the big uglies.

Outside shooting = Passing game
Commonalities: higher risk, higher reward; higher glam factor.

After the coin toss

Memphis' running game: The Memphis Tigers are a very well rounded team and pride themselves in being able to get things done on the ground. Actually, Memphis prefers to run the ball and are much more successful doing so. They even go so far as to use their quarterbacks and receivers as running backs on a majority of their possessions. Receiver Chris Douglas-Roberts carries the majority of the running burden (27.2%) while catching 40 of 89 passes for first downs. None of the Tigers pose a tough physical challenge for the Horns, but the defensive interior manned by Connor Atchley and Damion James will be more important than ever in this game.

Memphis' passing game: Receiver Donneal Mack has seen success receiving 63 of 174 passes for first downs, making him the biggest deep threat the Tigers employ. As stated before Chris Douglas-Roberts performs double duty on offense, running and receiving the ball well. Willie Kemp and Antonio Anderson are also favorite arial targets with 126 attempts each, and 44 and 41 completions for first downs respectively. The Tigers' receivers are tall and able to make important shots, and will prove to be a formidable defensive challenge for undersized Texas cornerbacks A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin.

Memphis' rush defense: On the defensive end, Memphis features an impressive corps of linebackers in Robert Dozier, Joey Dorsey, and Shawn Taggart, all of whom are in the top 200 in tackles for loss. Texas will need to take advantage of the inevitable blitz that Augustin will face by using power backs Connor Atchley and Damion James to advance the ball on the ground. The Tigers don't have as many takeaways (fumbles and interceptions) per player as they might like, with only one player breaking the top 500 percentage-wise, but they are quite successful at keeping opponents from converting on third down.

Memphis' pass defense: Overall, the Tigers have the number one defense in the country with a great deal of their strength coming from their ability to stop the pass. Memphis ranks seventh in the nation in stopping first downs through the air, allowing a completion percentage of only 30.2%. For Texas, the key to this game will be to use other players besides A.J. Abrams to get work done through the air. The Cardinal did a sufficient job shutting down Abrams, and I suspect Memphis will look to do the same. The Tigers are a strong defensive team, so Texas will need stellar performances from Connor Atchley, Damion James, and Justin Mason from behind the three stripe to end up ahead. 

Googlology: Elite 8 (3/29-3/30)

Rules of the Game

Games: (Results)

No. 3 Xavier at No. 1 UCLA --- (192,000 to 529,000) 
No. 3 Louisville at No. 1 North Carolina --- (346,000 to 1,090,000)
No. 2 Texas at No. 1 Memphis --- (446,000 to 284,000)
No. 10 Davidson at No. 1 Kansas --- (462,000 to 431,000) 

Winners:

UCLA, North Carolina, Texas, Davidson

Upsets:

Memphis, Kansas

Google, you so crazay! But please be right. Seriously.

Googlology: Sweet 16 Day 1 (3/27)

Rules of the Game

Games: (Results)

No. 7 West Virginia at No. 3 Xavier --- (365,000 to 192,000)
No. 4 Washington State at No. 1 North Carolina --- (290,000 to 1,080,000)
No. 12 Western Kentucky at No. 1 UCLA --- (188,000 to 455,000)
No. 3 Louisville at No. 2 Tennessee --- (365,000 to 612,000)

Winners:

West Virginia, UNC, UCLA, Tennessee.

Upset:

Xavier

Google appears to be less gung-ho on predicting upsets this round; me thinks It is getting worried about losing to the fleshy pink primates.

Totally Ridiculous Cross-Sport Assessment: Stanford

Like a good deal of Texas fans, I'm most familiar with our football team and the game of football itself (I didn't say all Texas fans, you sports nerds who are hitting the email reply button to tell me they know everything about all sports, or hate football and only follow Texas' underwater basket-weaving team for people with gender identity disorder). So to accommodate mostly me, but also the rest of you who respond better to football talk, I'm going to make an assessment of the Horns' upcoming sweet 16 game against the Standford Cardinals in football terms.

Basic rules of the metaphor

Two pointer = Rushing first down

Commonalities: bread and butter positive offensive action for any team, not as game changing as...

Three pointer = Passing first down

Commonalities: generally speaking a larger gain, momentum swing

Post game = Running game.

Commonalities: lower risk, lower reward; requires a lot of unglamorous work by the big uglies.

Outside shooting =Passing game

Commonalities: higher risk, higher reward; higher glam factor.

After the coin toss

Stanford's running game:

Texas' biggest concern in this match up is going to be by far Stanford's rushing attack. The Cardinal's have an incredible stable of twin running backs who are going to bare most of the offensive load. Think A&M with two Javorsky Lanes running the option. Specifically, 7-foot tailback Brook Lopez is going to be the offensive player to stop as he has been given the ball on an incredible 33.8% of Cardinal plays. Fellow running back and twin brother, fullback Robin Lopez is ready to jump in along with Taj Finger to pick up the ball if Brook comes up short after first and second down. Robin and Taj collectively account for more than 26.7% of the offensive rebounds third down conversions. This is a dangerous combination for any team to face, just ask Marquette, but for the Horns' Stanford's running game may prove to be particularly challenging. Our most successful run stopping linebacker is Connor Atchley, ranking 54th nationally and second in the Big XII in tackles behind the line. Even with his success, Connor still gives up 3" and about 20 lbs to both Lopez brothers. Look for Rick Barnes to play our biggest package to stop the Cardinal's punishing rush attack, featuring Damion James, Alexis Wangmene, and Connor Atchley at defensive end or linebacker

Stanford's passing game:

As I said before, Stanford tends to rely heavily on their rushing game to get the yards, but their passing game is nothing to be scoffed at. As with any team that features an effective rushing attack, the passing game becomes equally deadly against the unbalanced defense. Although the Cardinal's have tried a variety of different quarterbacks, their primary play-maker is starting quarterback Anthony Goods. Perhaps sharing the same number as legend Brett Favre has lent Anthony the same affinity for passing, because Anthony has passed 170 times this season and achieved 60 first downs along the way.

Stanford's rush defense:

Grinding out yards on the ground will be no easy task for the Horns' due to the enormity of Stanford's front seven. Defensive tackle Robin Lopez ranks 30th in the nation in tackles behind the line and is accompanied on the national list by his 94th ranked twin brother, Brook Lopez.

Stanford's pass defense:

Stanford will be looking to shut down Texas' potent aerial attack, and have some of the right tools to do it. One advantage of having a large defensive line is its ability to create a massive wall for the passer to throw over. If Texas' offensive line, featuring Connor Atchley, Damion James, and Alexis Wangmene, cannot keep Stanford's defensive line away from quarterback A.J. Abrams the Horns' could have a tough time getting first downs. Texas' offensive line has to establish an inside presence early on so that Stanford's defensive ends can't get in the face of the various quarterbacks employed by Texas.

Random-probably-untrue-but-who-really-knows fact:

Stanford actually has a football team in real life too (I know, crazy), not just in obscure metaphorical analysis.

Googlology: Week 1 Results

The first weekend and the first two rounds of 2008 NCAA tournament play is in the books, and now it's time to see how Google did. 

Round of 64

Winners predicted by Google (incorrect predictions in red, correct upset predictions in green):

Georgia, Kansas, Michigan State, Kentucky, Purdue, Kent State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, USC, Duke, Washington State, BYU, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona, Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee, Davidson, Miami, Western Kentucky, Butler, Georgetown, Texas, Connecticut, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Siena, Oregon, Indiana, Louisville, Clemson, and Memphis.

Overall accuracy: 21/32 = 66%

Upset prediction accuracy: 3/8 = 37.5%

Round of 32

Winners predicted by Google (incorrect predictions in red, correct upset predictions in green):

Duke, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, Stanford, Kansas, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Siena, Miami, Butler, San Diego, Davidson, Memphis, Oklahoma, and North Carolina

Overall accuracy: 7/16 = 43.75%

Upset prediction accuracy: 1/3 = 33%

Analysis

Interestingly, Google did quite well predicting the outcome of the first round games, even picking up some of the upsets. Overall though, Google barely broke 50% picking 28 of 48 correctly. But how did Google do against some very knowledgeable bloggers? Over at burntorangenation.com PB correctly picked 33 out of 48, getting 5 more correct than Google, and AW picked 36 out of 48, getting 8 more correct than Google. 

Verdict

After the first weekend of the tournament mankind can rest easy for a few more days knowing that we aren't going to get Matrixed any time soon. Here's the scoreboard:

1. Smart Blogger People: 34.5/48 = 72%

2. Google: 28/48 = 58%

Googlology: Round of 32 Day 2 (3/23)

Rules of the Game

Googlology: Round of 64 Day 1 (3/20)

Googlology: Round of 64 Day 2 (3/21)

Googlology: Round of 32 Day 1 (3/22)

Games: (Results)

No. 13 Siena at No. 12 Villanova --- (234,000 to 176,000)
No. 7 Miami (FL) at No. 2 Texas --- (544,000 to 426,000)
No. 7 Butler at No. 2 Tennessee --- (1,660,000 to 616,000)
No. 13 San Diego at No. 12 Western Kentucky --- (219,000 to 204,000)
No. 10 Davidson at No. 2 Georgetown --- (463,000 to 406,000)
No. 8 Mississippi State at No. 1 Memphis --- (240,000 to 334,000)
No. 6 Oklahoma at No. 3 Louisville --- (394,000 to 393,000)

No. 9 Arkansas at No. 1 North Carolina --- (417,000 to 890,000)

Winners:

Siena, Miami, Butler, San Diego, Davidson, Memphis, Oklahoma, North Carolina

Upsets:

Villanova, Texas, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Georgetown, Louisville

Google is feeling quite chaotic today, but my bracket and my school pride hopes It is wrong.