I've been coming to Vegas for the better part of the last 10 years so I can bet on the opening weekend of the Dance. Over the course of those years, I've realized that you should never bet on awful teams that you have never seen play.
But then you get out here, you get the fever, you get a little sauced, and the next thing you know, you're dropping coin on LIU Brooklyn and Boise State.
It soon follows that LIU's star player turns it over five times for the Blackbirds and L'il Chris Tyrone Garland is burning your bet for 22 points and you're in an 0-2 hole to start the festivities.
So, that's where I'm coming from as I crank out the last Skully before the best tournament in the world gets set to tip off. A few frozen Hurricanes are also in the mix so if you see a misspelling, don't scoff; take pleasure in the fact I was in the ballpark. Many thanks.
LOVE FOR LOVING. Two days after capturing the AP's Division I Player of the Year award for the second year in a row, Toledo St. John forward and future Buckeye Marc Loving was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball.
The 6-foot-8 Loving averaged 21.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while leading his team to a 20-4 record. He joins a list of past winners that includes three-time winner LeBron James, two-time winner Jim Jackson, William Buford, Jared Sullinger and Big Ten Player of the Year Trey Burke. Solid company.
Loving's coach, Ed Heintschel, thinks Buckeye fans are in for a treat:
"He is a low- to no-maintenance guy with a very, very high return," he said. "He's been a pleasure to have on the team. This kid is a can't-miss as a human being."
"He's just a real solid, solid kid," Heintschel said. "Comes from a great family. Never in trouble, kind of a low-key kid. Pretty quiet. He got more verbal this year as a senior, which was very helpful. He lets the game come to him a little bit, but if necessary he'll impose his will on the game."
Can't wait to see you on campus, Mr. Loving.
MARCH MADNE$$. H&R Block (!?) put together a look at how much money is generated from the NCAA Tournament and who actually profits from the world's greatest sporting tournament. A few intriguing nuggets include:
- The average bonuses for a head coach making the field include $47k for simply earning a bid, $107k for reaching the Final Four and $186K for cutting down the nets.
- On the academic side, the average head coach bonuses for meeting the minimum APR score is $39k.
- Interestingly, when a school makes the tournament, their admissions applications increase 1% the following year. That number climbs to 3% if the hoops squad reaches the Sweet 16, 4-5% if the team makes the Final Four and 7-8% if they win the championship.
- In 2010, the combined basketball programs at all D-I schools brought in $1.6 billion dollars and spent $1.4 billion.
- Men's teams grossed $1.23 billion in total revenue and had $893 million in expenses.
- Women's teams brought in $374 million in revenue while generating $519 million in expenses.
- The study lists the fair market value of the average FBS player at $265k while noting the average scholarship shortfall (out of pocket expense) is over $3,000.
N3RDS! Employing sabermetrics gurus in MLB has been the rage for more than decade thanks to guys like Bill James, and most NBA franchises also stack their payroll with numbers nerds, searching for an edge. Now, as Pete Thamel writes, the trend is catching on in college hoops, or at least it is in Butler, where progressive-minded Brad Stephens does his thing.
The numbers guy at Butler is Drew Cannon, and he's pulling down $1,000 per month as the first "pure statistics-based hire" in college basketball.
Stephens is keeping a lid on much of what Cannon does as not to allow the rest of the college basketball world to copy their blueprint, but it is known that Cannon keeps specific practice stats, tracks how effective set plays perform, and does a deep dive in understanding which players excel and what, and more importantly, which players perform best alongside specific teammates:
Cannon's greatest value is with lineup analysis, as Stevens terms his work "unreal." "It includes every player, pairs of players, groups of three, big lineups, small lineups, etc.," Stevens said. Cannon will also include the offensive and defensive efficiency of Butler's players from previous matchups with an opponent, which Stevens said, "Will help me determine probable sub patterns, late game lineups, etc."
From the data for pairs of players, groups of three and entire lineups, the biggest benefit of Cannon's work has been figuring out who plays well together. Hypothetically speaking, guards Rotnei Clarke and Chase Stigall may have poor offensive and defensive efficiencies when playing together, but if paired with forward Erik Fromm those statistics improve.
As the year has gone on, Cannon has come up with lineup "rules," and Stevens tends to stick with them unless fatigue or foul trouble force him to go in a different direction.
HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE!Stephens, who sports a degree in economics, has always been a fan of using numbers to gain an edge. Thamel notes that when Butler earned a spot opposite Duke in the 2010 national title game, he sought out KenPom for some useful statistical data. Stephens is also certain that with the publication of this article, many head coaches will begin their quest to mine data in search of a competitive edge.
PLAYA HATERZ BALL. USA Today came out with the 10 most hated college basketball coaches and while the list contains its fair share of dirtbags, it also leaves out guys like Tom Crean, Mick "Tight Rims" Cronin and, well, Mick Cronin.
As you'd surmise, the lazy choice for #1 was none other than the General, Robert Montgomery Knight, followed by Coach K, Adolph Rupp, John Thompson and John Calipari. Besides those already named, I think Bob Huggins should be slotted higher along with John Chaney's vastly overrated self.
As for the compiled list, the top five looks like:
- Bobby Knight
- Mike Krzyzewski
- Adolph Rupp
- John Thompson
- John Calipari
In case you're wondering, Tark the Shark clocks in at 10th.
UPSET ALERT. The venerable Luke Winn took a stab at determining the most dangerous 11+ seeds and it serves as the latest piece to underscore just how wide open the tournament field is in comparison to previous versions.
Oregon tops the list and the Ducks will battle Oklahoma State today at 4:45 PM Eastern. Belmont is the 4th-rated bracket-buster and the pundits are conflicted on just how dangerous this team can be considering their struggles scoring the basketball. Winn sees St. Mary's as a huge threat to Memphis and notes Valpo is the most experienced team in the field.
CRAFTY. Aaron Craft, not Victor Oladipo, is CBS Sports' Defensive Player of the Year because CBS college basketball analysts clearly know more about hoops than Big Ten coaches and media.
NOTHING BUT 'NET. Worldwide freedom of the press in 2013... 26 Things You'll See on Public Transportation (potentially NSFW)... How did Bracketology look back in November, you ask? Kentucky was a #1 seed... Great Moments in College Basketball Faces... Pranked weatherman is pranked... Marcus Lattimore continues to amaze... Accuscore breaks down each team's chances of cutting down the nets... Sparty fans trollin' hard... Alabama AD Mal Moore steps down due to poor health.
