THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015
PAGE 7
4
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The former BCS system, with its national championship game, seemed to be based on the hope that there would be exactly two top-tier teams. Unfortunately that almost never worked out. Only four times in the 16 years of the BCS were there exact two major-conference undefeated."
Nate Silver, fivethirtyeight.com
ESPN will pay $7.2 billion over 12 years to broadcast the college play-off system.
— ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Who won the most BCS titles from 1998-2013?
A: Alabama with 3 — NCAA.com
THE MORNING BREW
Ohio State victory ruins reputation of BCS
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system used in college football from 1998-2013 took its fair share of criticism throughout its reign of terror, but last week's ending to the new playoff system was the final nail in the coffin. They say never kick a man while he's down, but that doesn't mean we can't kick and smash what ever computer spat out those bizarre numbers for 15 years. And I mean Office Space, crazed-Michael-Bolton using his fists-on-the-copy-machine style.
Why am I so mad at a little computer after all these years? Well, it now seems like the last 16 years of watching "championship" games was just a farce. After No.4 Ohio State dominated No.2 Oregon in the championship game, the reliability of the BCS system crumbled and, with it, any respect it might have possessed. How many other fourth-ranked teams in past years could've done what the Buckeyes
pulled off?
The answer is that no one truly knows, and that's the upsetting part.
The whole mantra of the BCS when first implemented was to crown a true champion. While only a child, I vividly remember how elated every sports fan was because a "true" champion would be crowned in each season. However, seeing how Ohio State ran through Oregon and also beat up Alabama, can we still honestly believe the best teams won during the BCS era? I can't, and the fact that Alabama would have played Florida State in this
year's championship had the BCS been around proves why.
Of course, the computer can't be blamed completely, for it is just a computer. The operators, or higher ups at the NCAA headquarters, should be the ones most scrutinized. The nonprofit organization — which is truly hilarious considering they brought in almost a billion dollars in 2013 — watched as their most precious product blossomed, earning the nonprofit (still laughing) more money than ever before.
For this reason, I can't blame the NCAA for sticking to the system. "Don't fix what isn't broken," is what the NCAA big wigs were thinking, and money wise, it was not broken. But for anyone outside the NCAA, the BCS system was like a chair on its last leg. For years there were discrepancies on if the right two teams had been chosen, and we were subjugated to a computer making that decision somehow.
In 2013, when the NCAA announced the end of the BCS and introduced the playoff system, it wasn't because they all of a sudden wished to see who the best college football team was. Rather, they finally acknowledged how stale the BCS had become, and knew the opportunity to make more money had presented itself. The $7.3 billion price tag that ESPN will pay the NCAA over 12 years to broadcast the new college football playoff system says it all.
Seventy-eight years since the AP poll started crowning college football national champions, the four-team playoff system already looks like the best way in order to do so, and it's not close. Those yearning to have an eight-team playoff system had better take a seat though; the NCAA will continue to do what makes them the most money, and not what's ultimately fair.
THE DAILY DEBATE
— Edited by Jordan Fox
Will the Jayhawks win the Big 12 title?
By Jacob Clemen
@jclemn9
"YES"
The Big 12 has been kind to the Jayhawks the past 10 years. Kansas has been able to control the reins in the top of the conference by winning 10 straight and there is no reason why they won't make it 11 when the regular season comes to an end in the beginning of March. As long as the Jayhawks have Allen Fieldhouse to play in, there is no better home court advantage. In their last 13 games at Allen Fieldhouse, they have only had one loss, according to ESPN.com. This season they're still undefeated at home after playing 10 games, adding to Bill Self's astonishing 168-9 record at Allen Fieldhouse
ence in the country.
Also to the Jayhawks' advantage is their nonconference schedule. Overall, their schedule this year was the fifth toughest in the country, and included teams like Georgetown, Florida, Kentucky, and Utah. These are not only tough games individually, but playing these high caliber opponents prepares them for playing in arguably the toughest confer-
So far the benefits have been easily seen. The Jayhawks again find themselves in the running for the regular season crown. Kansas is tied for the lead in the Big 12 with its rival Kansas State, both teams have 4-1 conference records. The Jayhawks might be young and sports writers might give them grief for it, but freshmen Kelly Oubre Jr., Cliff Alexander and Devonte' Graham are becoming the stars that Self thought they would be when he recruited
20-point performances.
20-point performance. Wayne Selden has also played exceptionally at times this season, including a 21-point performance against Florida that helped fuel a 19-point comeback. Other role players have showed promise as well, with Brannen Greene shining against Georgetown, going 8-for-8 from downtown and not missing a free throw down the stretch.
The Jayhawks are a very deep team with a lot of growth still to come as they
THE JAYHAWKS ARE A VERY DEEP TEAM WITH A LOT OF GROWTH STILL TO COME AS THEY GET INTO THE TOUGHER PART OF THEIR BIG 12 SCHEDULE
CLEMEN
Monday night against Oklahoma, Alexander and Oubre combined for 32 points alone and each made key plays in the final minutes. Not only have the freshmen stepped up, but the veterans have contributed as well. Through 17 games this season, Perry Ellis has chalked up five double-doubles and eight
get into the tougher part of their Big 12 schedule, but if they continue to improve and stay successful, there is no doubt in any Jayhawk fans minds that there will be an 11th Big 12 regular season title coming this March.
them to Lawrence.
Edited by Jordan Fox
By GJ Melia @gjmelia
"NO"
A 10-game win streak in any sport is impressive enough; a 10-championship win streak, however, is almost unbelievable. Bill Self has managed to put together a program at the University of Kansas that is one of the best regular season programs in the history of college basketball. Since 2004, Kansas basketball players
ranked, Self will not be able to put together another Big 12 winning season.
Self has taken all manner of talent groups to the Big 12 promised land in his 11 seasons, from experienced groups of seniors to squads of talented freshmen, speedy backcourts to powerful frontcourts.
But this team is not those teams. Self has not been able to make this team gel together the way he has for all his other teams. This year's 72.3 points per game is the lowest
IT'S NOT ONLY THE JAYHAWKS' STRUGGLES TO FIND AN IDENTITY THAT WILL HOLD THEM BACK FROM BIG 12 TITLE NO. 11, IT'S HOW GOOD THE BIG 12 HAS BECOME.
have worn the Big 12 regular season title ring every year, and Self now has more rings than he has fingers. He's been there and he's done that, and he can go there and do that again.
But not this year.
But not this year. In a year where the Big 12 is better than it's been in a long time, with six of its 10 teams
MELIA
total in the Self era, and the coach that prides himself on defense has watched his team give up 62.8 points per game, outside the top 100 in the country.
It's not only the Jayhawks' struggle to find an identity that will hold them back from Big 12 title No. 11, it's how good the Big 12 has become. The depth of the conference
is unmatched, and the teams match up very well with the size of Kansas. The No. 17 Texas Longhorns (13-4, 2-2) are coming off beat downs of West Virginia and TCU, and their front court is shaping up to be one of the best in the nation. They're ranked fourth in the country in rebounds per game, and the freshman phenom Myles Turner has become the best flex-five in America. That's a guy who, standing at 6-foot-11, averages nearly 12 points per game, shoots 40 percent from beyond the arc and 88 percent from the free throw line. Also on the Longhorns' roster are big men Jonathan Holmes and Cameron Ridley, who each average above 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. That's a front court that could compete with the size of the powerful Jayhawks, and with a dynamic backcourt led by Isaiah Taylor, the Longhorns are a dangerous team
Self has enjoyed a run of unprecedented success at the University of Kansas, but everything comes to an end eventually, and unfortunately the same is true with Big 12 titles. At the end of this year, someone else will get a turn to wear those rings.
Edited by Jordan Fox
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