Freshman Phenoms Teams Struggling As Dance Is Upon Us

O.J Mayo and Michael Beasley are two of the best freshman playing college basketball this season. Both players are averaging over 20 points per contest, and both decided not to go to the elite basketball programs like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas or Indiana. Despite how much game these future NBA All-Stars have, both Mayo and Beasley are having a hard time getting to the big dance next month. They both are seeing that basketball is a team game, and neither of these guys have the supporting cast to carry them into the field of 65. So they have to carry their teams themselves. Beasley looked like his Wildcats had all but wrapped up an at large bid. However they are back on the bubble again after losing four out of the last five games including losses to Nebraska and Texas Tech. USC has won two straight since losing at home to arch rival UCLA, but still is looking for another good win to put on their resume. They beat UCLA at UCLA earlier in January, but that is their only good win. Losses to Mercer and California are the only real blemishes on their resume. Both teams are safely in ESPN's Bracketology, but as March creeps closer both teams could be bumped out in the coming weeks.

Kansas States Road To The Dance
Looks like the Wildcats are gonna push their losing streak to four straight and five out of their last six when they face arch rival KU this Saturday in Lawrence. If they can win against Colorado and at Iowa State the Wildcats should have the third seed going into the Big 12 tournament. They would get a bye in the first round of the tournament, and with win in the second round would give them 21 wins on the season which should be good enough to get an at large bid. However beating ISU in Ames is not a going to be a piece of cake as Hilton magic has helped ISU win some big games over ranked opponents the past couple of years. As bad as they are struggling, I think Kansas State is going to ultimately be in the NCAA tournament.



USC's Road To The Dance
Four tough games lie ahead for the Trojans as they finish up the season with Arizona, Arizona State, California, and Stanford. Winning three out of the four games would put them at 20 wins on the season, which seems to be the magical number every year for teams to get into the tournament. Realistically this team could lose the last four games, and wind up having a high seed in the Pac 10 tournament and if they lost first round Mayo and the Trojans would be playing NIT basketball. However I think the Trojans spilt the next two games and win one in the Pac 10 tournament to get them in the NCAA tournament.


Possible Matchup?
I could see an 8 vs 9 first round match up between these two. In fact I think it would be entertaining and is something the committee should look into. It would be inside presence verse a tandem of guards. Mayo and Beasley will battle it out on the hardwood a couple times a year, why not get started early by matching them up in the NCAA tournament?

Nate Gonner is a guest writer for The Sports Flow. He writes his columns every Monday and Thursday for Gonners View. Check his site out here

College Football 2007 Conference Preview: Big XII

The Big XII has been down in recent years but still has it's perennial powers in Texas and Oklahoma, also Nebraska is starting to get back to its old self. The league may be down on talent but it is as competitive as any other conference in the land.

Predicted Order of Finish
North
1. Nebraska
The Huskers will face a tough non-conference schedule facing USC and Wake Forest and tough in-conference road games against Missouri and Texas. They do lose QB Zac Taylor but transfer Sam Keller should be a good replacement for him. Keller has great arm strength and should put up good numbers under Bill Callahan's offense. They only return 11 starters overall, 5 on the defensive side, but they have enough depth and talent to overcome that and win the weaker division of the conference.

2. Missouri
The Tigers' offense should be decent with 8 starters back that includes QB Chase Daniel, (who I believe is one of the best QB's in the Big 12), two great tight ends in Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker, and RB Tony Temple who rushed for 1,063 yards in '06 and is the top returning rusher in the Big 12. The defense will need some tweaking with just 5 starters returning from that unit.

3. Kansas St.

KSU does return QB Josh Freeman, but he must show that he can be a little more consistent this season in order for the Wildcats to make some noise. The Wildcats fate will most likely lie on his shoulders. The O-line must also find some consistency along with depth as well. They do return great pass-catchers in Jordy Nelson and Daniel Gonzalez, which will help. The Cats do return more than half of the defense but have some holes to fill at LB. But the defensive front returns stud DE's Ian Campbell and Rob Jackson. The secondary has the most experience back than any other unit with 5 significant players with starting experience.

4. Colorado
The Buffs do have some experience to work with, 16 return overall. The biggest need is at QB where it's between Cody Hawkins and transfer Nick Nelson. Hawkins looks to be the leading candidate being the coaches son. The defense was a lot better than the offense last season and with 7 starters back it's looking a little brighter for CU. They'll need players to step up on the defensive front, but they'll be pretty strong with some good experience back at LB. The secondary lost 3 starters but they still have All-Big 12 CB Terrence Wheatley who is back along with some other talent as well.

5. Kansas
KU does indeed have 14 starters back, but experience doesn't always guarantee anything. They need to find a QB after losing Adam Barmann to graduation. They also have big holes to fill on the offensive and defensive lines. They do have a stud corner returning in Aquib Talib. Don't be surprised if sees time at WR as well.

6. Iowa St.
ISU does return a very athletic and talented QB in Bret Meyers, one of the best QB's in the conference, but he was sacked an average of 3 times per game last season; which means they'll need to improve on the offensive line, especially after losing 4 starters from '06. The defense will need to improve as well after allowing more yards than any other Big 12 team in '06.

South
1. Texas
The Longhorns will have a very explosive offense with the return of QB Colt McCoy, WR's Limas Sweed and Billy Pittman, and RB Jamaal Charles. Charles is an explosive back and will see more carries this season. The defense should be solid again with tons of talent and depth all over the field. But the biggest concern will be the secondary with only S Marcus Griffin returning.

2. Oklahoma
I would probably have OU winning the south but they still need to find a QB to fill in for the loss of Paul Thompson. But then again this is Bob Stoops and his Oklahoma Sooners I am talking about. Joey Halzle looks to be the projected starter for the season opener vs. North Texas. Keith Nichol could also make a fight for the starting position as well, but Halzle looks to be the favorite. They also need to replace Adrian Peterson, but RB Allen Patrick returns and should be one of the premier backs in the conference. Despite losing defensive stud Rufus Alexander, OU's defense will once again be far from a let down. They return 6 starters from that side of the ball and have plenty of talent everywhere.

3. Texas A&M
The Aggies have a chance to compete with Texas and OU once again for the Big 12 South Title, but their semi-tough schedule could be holding them back. They will visit Miami (FLA.), rival Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri and will play Oklahoma St., and Texas at home. They should have a pretty solid offense with 9 starters back including QB Stephen McGee, who was one of four QB's last season to pass for at least 2,000 yards and rush for at least 500. A&M also returns two stud RB's Jorvorkie Lane and Mike Goodson.

4. Oklahoma St.
They return 15 starters overall with several key players back in QB Bobby Reid, WR Adarius Bowman, and LB Chris Collins. The defense needs to improve in order to compete with Texas, OU, or even A&M, but they do return 7 starters on that side of the ball.

5. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders never have a problem scoring on offense, QB Graham Harrell returns who put up 4,555 yards and 38 TDs last season. The defense has some holes to fill, they gave up 23.8 ppg in '06. They can win shootouts with their defense, but it would make things a whole lot easier if their defense could make some stops.

6. Baylor
Baylor will struggle once again with many holes to fill on the offensive side. They do have a starting QB returning in Michael Machen. But they need to find some depth at RB where they struggled dramatically last season, ranking last in the nation in yards per game.

Big XII Championship:
Texas over Nebraska

Offensive Player of the Year:
Colt McCoy, QB- Texas

Defensive Player of the Year:
Frank Okam, DT- Texas

Freshman of the Year:
Tray Allan, G- Texas

Coach of the Year:
Bill Callahan- Nebraska

Games to Watch:
Nebraska at Texas- Oct. 27

Oklahoma vs. Texas at Dallas- Oct. 6

Oklahoma at Texas A&M- Nov. 3

Texas at Texas A&M- Nov. 23

Texas A&M at Nebraska- Oct. 20

Is KSU BBall really this boring?

Apparently KSU freshman Billy Walker was bored of his teams NIT game last night. I think it's funny and odd at the same time. I turned the channel to ESPN and saw it live and there he was munching on his popcorn. Or maybe he wasn't bored after all? Maybe he enjoys the NIT and just craved some popcorn... pretty funny stunt. I mean HE'S EATING POPCORN! The announcers just continue to talk about how great he is, and they show him eating popcorn, not even saying a word about it... I can't stop laughing whenever I watch it. Just thought I would write a little something about this, I just thought it was a little intriguing...

Well here's the video while we're at it...

Who's In, Who's out?

The Madness is almost here. Which bubble teams are in and which are out? There are many teams out there trying to solidify their spot in the tourney. Which is why conference tourney time is so crucial for teams vying for a bid.

IN OR OUT?

ACC:
Georgia Tech- In
The Yellow Jackets have one of the easier in-conference schedules in the ACC, but have some key wins. Early season wins over Memphis, Duke, FSU (2), Clemson, and NC State help; But the main one was Thursday nights upset over UNC. I believe if G-Tech lost that game they would of had to get 2 or 3 wins in the ACC Tourney to get a bid; but now with the win over the Tar-Heels, G-Tech is probably dancing.

Clemson- Out
Clemson was on fire at the start of the season. But have recently dropped 9 out of the last 12. The Tigers do not have many wins that will catch the eye of the NCAA Tournament Committee and still don't have a win over a ranked opponent.

FSU- Out
A week or two ago I probably would have had this team in. But after some tough losses they're quickly dropping. FSU has some key wins but have only one significant win on the road, which was at Duke. In order to get into the tourney they need a strong showing at the ACC Tournament next week and need to get a win over one of the top 4 in the league.

Big 12:
Kansas State- Out
KSU has been too inconsistent and have not played particularly well on the road. The Wildcats are 62nd in the RPI and are 1-5 against the top 50, and in hope of a tournament berth need to at least make it to the Big 12 tournament championship.

Texas Tech- In
T-Tech has one of the toughest schedules in the country and have vital wins over top ranked opponents. Which include: Kansas & Texas A&M twice. Even if the Red Raiders get knocked out of the conference tourney right away, the big wins will be enough.

Oklahoma State- Out
Even with a tough schedule, OK St. is just out of the tournament. Only one good road win against Syracuse is not good enough to get you in the dance.

Big East:
Syracuse- In
The Cuse has been playing well lately and just got a much needed win over Georgetown. Maybe one or two conference tourney wins would help though.

West Virginia- In
The 2 recent road losses don't help but some big wins along the way do. A 55 RPI isn't much to brag about, but the Mountaineers also deserve credit for beating the teams they should've beaten.

Villanova- In
Nova is no doubt in, 7th SOS in the country and their RPI is 19th. They don't have many big road wins, but they came up big by beating plenty of ranked teams at home.

Pac 10:
USC- In
I don't know if I can consider them a bubble team or not, but they are indeed in. USC may not have the greatest RPI and SOS but playing in the toughest conference in the country is hard enough.

Arizona- In
Besides struggling throughout the season, the Wildcats have enough wins to get in. Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country helps and some recent road conference wins will get them in.

Stanford- In
Standford has strong enough wins and a decent enough RPI to get them in. Also, the big upset over UCLA is the main ingredient for a bid.

SEC:
Vanderbilt- In
The Commodores have a tough schedule and got some some clutch wins down the stretch. The consistency from this team is huge and they will be dancing.

Alabama- In
Bama is one of those teams that are hard to call right now. I think that they will make it. I think they will be the only team to make it out of the SEC West Division. Their inconsistency has really been what put them on the bubble. They haven't beat too many good teams. They did beat Kentucky, but they lost big to Notre Dame and Auburn. For them to solidify a spot, they will have to win at least one game in the SEC Tournament.