I gave my son one of the posters that I created for the Kansan in the 90s and told him to take it to the game for good luck..

@stoptheflop Tre and Melvin are the 3rd scorer by committee. I love the way Tre is a foul-seeking missile at the end of the shot clock. And Melvin is a bit like a lighthouse -- blinding bright, but sometimes goes dark... Together they are great.

Peterson is once in a decade talent. I remember watching Durant and thinking.. man, why can't we get a dude like that on our team?

We got one.

It's been said, but probably worth saying again: FLORY. This was a defensive game. And we had the better defense and the BEST defensive player.

Flory has to be defensive player of the week in the B12 and should get some recognition nationally.

I hear you all.. but the main thing that was wrong the other night was that our best player (or most expensive asset, if you look at it cynically) was not on the floor.

I think this is a good, competitive roster, when the whole roster is considered, plus the staff and the ability of the players to grow and improve.

That last point is worth noting: Most of the players have played less than 10 games under Coach Self. Some of these players are incredibly talented and others are very experienced (or both). Coach Self's track record with seasoned players is excellent. I'm bullish on them all improving faster than the competition (if they all get on the court and play together sooner rather than later.)

Pounding Missouri is occupying 100% of the space in my head for basketball right now.

I hated the officiating in that game. Absolutely hated it. About the only thing they did right was not call the flagrant on that ridiculous foul.

I think we are all 100% frustrated that he's not 100%. That includes him.

But it's a pretty phenomenal freshmen who can start and play at less than 100% and still be a very significant contributor playing just a fraction of the game.

At this point, I'm thinking he should sit and heal. I sooo want to see him at 100% with this team in March.

Remy 2.0?

It was an eventful night in a multitude of ways. For us Rosario Kohl-watchers, we had a sighting. He looked rusty offensively but his athleticism is undeniable. Spectacular rebound and some decent D.

The sports talkshows are awash in the topic of DP, but I have not sensed any embarrassment for Self or KU. In fact, there has been a lot of empathy and even admiration for Self give the way he has handled this challenge.

I'm going out on a limb and predicting 9 teams.

Seven teams are pretty obvious: The top 6 (ranked) teams plus UCF (8-6) which has only one game against a top 6 team remaining (tonight vs BYU).

TCU, CINCY and WVU are all .500 in the league right now. I think TWO of these three teams will make it into the tourney.

WVU only has one game against the top 6 (hosting BYU). But it does host UCF on Friday March 6. (Could have big implications.)

TCU plays @ TT and hosts Cincy.

Cincy plays @ TT, hosts BYU and is @ TCU.

Cincy seems legit based on Saturday's performance but we'll have to see; it seems to have the toughest road.

Plenty of time for two of these teams to elevate themselves over the third through the final games of the league and in the B12 tournament.

If the tourney leaves out two of these three, I'll be surprised.

B12 STANDINGS: (top 7 teams)
AZ: 12-2
KU: 11-4
HOU: 11-4
ISU: 10-4
TT: 10-4
BYU: 8-6
UCF: 8-6 (the sleeper -- only 1 game vs top 6 remaining)

REMAINING B12 GAMES: (top 6 teams)

TONIGHT (FEB 24)
ARIZ @ BAYLOR
ISU @ UTAH
TT vs CINCY
BYU vs UCF

SAT FEB 28
KU @ ARIZ**
ARIZ vs KU**
HOU v COLO
ISU vs TT**
TT @ ISU**
BYU @ WV

MON/TUE MAR 2-3
KU @ AZST
ARIZ vs ISU**
HOU v BAYLOR
ISU @ ARIZ**
TT vs TCU
BYU @ CINCY

SAT MAR 7
KU vs KSU
ARIZ @ COLO
HOU @ OKST
ISU vs AZST
TT @ BYU**
BYU vs TT**

** Top 6 head to head games

@JoJoAndMe said in Fran wowlly Wow say it isn't so Buddy lmao:

By the time Fran left, the traffic would have mostly cleared.

Agree.. Fran and Schombie had a lengthy interview with Scott Van Pelt about 30-40 min after the game ended. By the time they wrapped up and got their stuff, it would have been at least an hour post-game. I would imagine the lots and garages would have been mostly empty by then.

@rcjhdraft said in Big Monday v Houston 8:00:

Getting a bunch of unathletic teams would be a great draw

Yeah, but that will never happen. If we know, the committee knows...

We can beat athletic teams.. but we need them to play to their mean and no go nuts like Cincinnati did.

Houston did not shoot well (kind of a reverse fortune for us) and also seemed hesitant on some open shots. Some of that was a credit to our defense.

When you get to the tournament, you have to make your fortune and control the fortunes of the other team. That's something we may be learning at just the right time.

I STILL feel like our best basketball is in front of us.

This is a very good team most of the time. Occasionally they may you shake your head (i.e. Saturday) and occasionally they make you religious (i.e. Monday).

Flory has been the most consistent energy for the team and (a little credit to Fran here) is likely the B12 defensive player of the year. I knew he would improve year over year, but his growth has been remarkable.

I'm very happy for him because it now seems obvious he made the right call for himself and the team by staying.

@Tallturd1 said in Big Monday v Houston 8:00:

We are on purpose a low possession grind it out team team with a solid seven man rotation.

We may be a low possession team, but we are inconsistent at 'grinding out a game' (which I define as finding a way to score on almost every possession late -- often by drawing fouls and hitting free throws.)

I think we've done pretty well when we've been able to push the pace and get fast breaks...often from a steal. But that doesn't mean we actually make that a point of emphasis.

The identity of this team is elusive.

@jojoandme totally agree about watching how the refs call this. If our bigs get in early foul trouble, our chances diminish to less than 10%.

Agree... I don't read much into the smiling thing.

When I was working, I don't think I was smiling much. And when he's on the court, he's working.

I mean, I smiled when I was in conversation with people and was friendly in those kinds of settings. But when I was focused on my work, I doubt that I was smiling much. We don't have much of a view into the locker room or the non-working interactions of Darryn Peterson, so this doesn't seem like a fair indicator to me.

This game is 50-50. Much like the Arizona game.

We will need the crowd to be a lot better than Saturday. Even so, unlike T Lloyd, K Sampson has a ton of experience in AFH. I expect Houston to prepare for this much like they did for the final four against Duke and Florida last year.

If there were more guys from last year on the team I'd have them watch the tape of the game last year to try to get a motivational edge. But only Flory was on the floor for that one. At the very least, they should be prepared to play hard every friggin' tenth-of-a-second of this game.

Good article. You come away thinking, "Man, if Coach Self and the team figures this out... Wow."