->John Razook
Texas has a nice team. If they really get on a roll and close out the season with big wins against A&M and KU, they’ll do serious damage in both the Big XII and NCAA tournaments. That’s a big if in the postseason, though, as experience often holds sway. If Durant actually stayed in school, which absolutely no one expects to happen, the Longhorns would be a scary team next season. A legitimate Top 5 team.
I’ll stick with Kansas, though, with A&M my runner-up. These are both very balanced teams, and both deserve mention as possible No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. The game in Lawrence, Kan., won by A&M, was fantastic. Expect another gem in the tournament championship game. My pick is based solely on the revenge factor. A&M beat KU in Lawrence, and now Bill Self will be sure to extract a heavy vengeance on the Aggies.
As for Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, I can say this: They will each give valiant efforts but ultimately fall. It is the way of things, and the proud Oklahoman people will have to rest their pride on the fact that they will have played the part of gracious host for an outstanding event.
Shawn Badgley<-
John, you ignorant slut. I think the past couple of seasons have proved that there’s no such thing as a “legitimate Top 5 team” anymore, whether in conference or across the country. Things are wide open: Most anybody can win at any time. Sure, seeds matter, for our purposes especially in the case of the conference tournament. So, all right, fine: No Big XII team has won the tourney without the bye. But it should be said that Syracuse won the equally difficult Big East version last year without a bye. It’s gotta happen at some point here in these parts.
Might as well be Missouri in Oklahoma City. They’ll need to get the fifth seed or cling to the sixth – meaning they’ll play either Colorado or Baylor in the opening round – in order to have a shot, and I think they will. As we go to press, they’re hosting Colorado and will go to College Station this weekend to close out their regular slate. They’ll probably end up 7-9 with a No. 6 seed and had better watch out for Baylor, who could pull an upset. The middle of the Big XII is so congested that it’s hard to speculate beyond those No. 5-No. 12 and No. 6-No. 11 seed games on March 8, but Missouri is a well-conditioned defensive force with a ton of energy that has shown it can hang with the top teams. Of course, the Tigers have also been tamed more than they’ve triumphed, but I like their chances under first-year coach Mike Anderson. They’ll shock Kansas in the final and head to Sacramento or some other first-round cesspool among the chosen 65.
All of that being said, Texas will lose early in Oklahoma City – possibly to the Texas Tech team they beat by 30 last week – but three weeks later will have made it to Atlanta and the Final Four.
Find more “Possession Arrow” at “The Score” Chronicle sports blog
This article appears in March 2 • 2007.