LSU more like a paper Tiger this season
Where have you gone, Ben Simmons? No, we're not talking about your extended stint in the 76ers' witness protection program. We are talking about your departure after last season from Louisiana State, where you put up the gaudy numbers that put you in the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick club.
Where have you gone, Ben Simmons?
No, we're not talking about your extended stint in the 76ers' witness protection program. We are talking about your departure after last season from Louisiana State, where you put up the gaudy numbers that put you in the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick club.
The Tigers (9-18) really could use you. They lost their 14th consecutive game Tuesday night, 98-75 to Auburn, on their home court, allowing 90 or more points for the 10th time this season. It's been tough for the players and for fifth-year head coach Johnny Jones, who played for LSU under Dale Brown in much brighter days in the early 1980s.
"We look at it obviously as there's a reason that we're going through it and we've got to stay the course until we can break our way out of it," Jones said in an Associated Press story.
In his only season at LSU, the 6-foot-10 Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists on a team that finished 19-14. Would he have been better off staying, and playing, and presumably healthy? Who knows?
A desert delight
There will be a lot at stake Saturday night in Tucson when No. 4 Arizona takes on No. 5 UCLA, and sixth-ranked Oregon will be watching closely.
The Pac-12 arguably possesses the deepest and most talented top three teams this season of any conference, each capable of advancing to a Final Four. Right now, however, because of the NCAA selection committee's bracketing principles that require the best teams in the same leagues to be sent to different regions, only one can stay in the West for the tournament.
That likely will not be decided until the Pac-12 post-season event. Arizona currently is in first place in the conference at 15-1, followed by Oregon at 14-2 and UCLA at 12-3. The Ducks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Wildcats, and Arizona defeated the Bruins in their first meeting.
So whichever team can separate and earn a No. 2 seed in the West (behind Gonzaga's No. 1) certainly stays west of the Rockies for the entire post-season – Sacramento or Salt Lake City the first weekend, San Jose the second, Phoenix for the Final Four. Every other site is in the Eastern or Central time zone, meaning a lot of frequent flyer miles.
Lucky No. 13
Kansas won a share of its 13th consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship Wednesday night, relieving some of the pressure that comes with maintaining such a long streak.
"Our guys get most everybody's best shot, and they don't want to be the team that doesn't win the conference," Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. "Ever since year three or year four, it's been that every team doesn't want to be the team that doesn't do it."
According to the AP, the 13 ties the NCAA Division I record for conference titles set by UCLA in the 1960s and 1970s.
The pressure picks up again at NCAA tournament time. The Jayhawks have won one national championship, in 2008, during the streak and have made the Final Four one other time. But five times they've been unable to advance past the opening weekend.
Sprinting Friars
It's difficult to term one Saturday contest as an NCAA tournament elimination game given everything that can happen before Selection Sunday, but the winner of Marquette at Providence could breathe a bit more easily. The Friars have shot back into the post-season conversation thanks to Wednesday's win at Creighton, following home victories over Xavier and Butler, but their fans wonder if those accomplishments cancelled out bad losses to Boston College and DePaul. The Golden Eagles have quality wins over Villanova, Xavier and Creighton but six of their non-conference victories are to teams ranked 200 or below in the RPI.
The fight song
Well, we thought we had heard everything until we read about a fight that broke out over music playing in Maine's locker room, resulting in the suspension of five players. The Bangor Daily News reported that on Feb. 14, Wes Myers, the team's leading scorer, demanded that teammate Marko Pirovic turn off his music. When Pirovic refused, the two began throwing punches, resulting in a broken jaw for Pirovic. Both were suspended, along with three other Black Bear players who told officials that Pirovic's injury came in a fall in the shower. Maine is 6-24, the worst record among America East teams.
Expatriates of the Week
Bensalem's Stevie Jordan, who played his high school ball at Conwell-Egan, and former Paulsboro High product Xavier Lundy are among five players averaging double figures for Rider. Jordan, a 5-foot-10 freshman, is scoring at an 11.3-point-per-game clip and leads the Broncs in assists with a 5.5 average. The 6-7 Lundy, a senior, averages 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds and is second on the team in three-point baskets with 43. The Broncs wrap up the regular season Sunday at Quinnipiac.
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