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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, March 17, 1992
SPORTS
Picking winners an exercise in Madness
The Associated Press
OK, you've got the NCAA tournament grid spread out in front of you, waiting to be analyzed. Now what? How do you translate these 64 teams sprinkled over eight regional sites across the United States into a Final Four at Minneapolis?
Noproblem. It's aseasv as 1-1-1-1.
The tournament committee has figured the whole thing out for you, right there in the grid. The four No. 1 seeds—Duke in the East, UCLA in the West, Ohio State in the Southeast and Kansas in the Midwest — are the projected Final Four.
They were anointed by the nine athletic directors and conference commissioners who spent last weekend in a Kansas City, Mo., hotel, dining on room service and dissecting computer printouts, power ratings, strength of schedules, tournament results and the rest of the recipe for seeding the field.
ANALYSIS
If that is what these guys who make college basketball their business think, who are you to disagree?
Well, history tells us that despite the best intentions of the committee and the easiest path through the tournament minefield, the top seeds often go astray. That is why this exercise is called March Madness. The seeding system began in 1979, all four favorites never reached to wieve their way through this jungle as a group to reach the national semifinals together.
The trick, then, is to figure out which of them
will tumble and when that will happen.
Don't bet on the first game. Never has a No. 16 seed — almost always an automatic qualifier from one of the smaller conferences — been able to topple one of the heavyweights in one of those charming David vs. Goliath matchups. Princeton threw substantial scares into Georgetown and Arkansas in the last few years, which may explain why the committee decided to make the Tigers a No. 11 this year. The No. 16's track record, though, should take care of Campbell University's Fighting Camels, Howard University, Mississippi Valley State and Robert Morris College in this year's draw.
Only once — last year when University of Richmond sent Syracuse University packing — has a No. 15 knocked off a No. 2. That would seem to make the prospects for Eastern Illinois
against Indiana, Old Dominion against Kentucky, Georgia Southern against Oklahoma State and Northeast Louisiana against Southern Cal slender at best.
In addition to the talent gap, the task of the No. 15s is further complicated by non-basketball issues. Indiana will not be in the best frame of mind after losing the Big Ten title and a probable No. 1 seed on the final Sunday of the season against Purdue. Kentucky has something to prove, returning to the tournament after sitting out two years on probation. Southern Cal came within a whisker of the Pac-10 title and maybe the No. 1 seed in the West on the last day of the season.
That gets you through eight games. After
the things get less predictable, so you are on
YSRU.
Perhaps the most confusing issue is how to
separate a No. 8 seed from a No. 9. In the East, does Texas (23-11) have an edge over Iowa (18-10)? What do you do with University of Louisville (18-10) vs. Wake Forest (17-11) in the West, or university of Evansville (24-5) against UTEP (25-6) in the Midwest? No. 8 Nebraska comes in at 19-9 against No. 9 Connecticut, also 19-9, in the Southeast.
Warning: The committee is getting better at this seeding business. Last year, two No. 15—North Carolina and UNLV —made it to the Final Four, joined there by No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Kansas. That tied the best ever performance for the tournament committee, matching 1981.
Further warning: The 1981 best-ever came a year after the committee's worst showing. Final Four was composed of a No. 2, Louisville; a No. 5, Iowa; a No. 6, Purdue; and a No. 8, UCLA.
Baseball team to face Arkansas fourth time
KU pitcher puts streak on the line
By Jerry Schmidt Kansan sportswriter
In a year of many streaks for the Kansas baseball team, pitcher David Meyer will put the most impressive streak of the season on the line today when he takes the mound against the Arkansas Razor backs.
In the 20 innings he has pitched this season, Meyer, a sophomore from Broken Arrow, Okla., has not given up an earned run and has given up a more four hits on his way to a 3-0 record.
"The key has been defense," Meyer said of his streak. "I'm not an overpowering pitcher by any means. I have to keep the ball low in the zone and get a lot of ground balls."
The Jayhawks will attempt to beat Arkansas for the third time this season in four tries. Kansas beat Arkansas two of three games on Feb. 21-23 in Fayetteville. Game time is 3 p.m. at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
Meyer's feat is only one of Kansas' streaks this season. Junior catcher Jeff Neimeier had a 15-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with Colorado State. Sophomore centerfender Darryl Monroe had an 11-game hitting streak snapped in the same game.
Kansas coach Dave Bingham said Meyer's confidence on the mound had helped keep his streak alive.
"Our philosophy with our pitchers is that we ask them to believe in the stuff they have," he said. "He has probably been better in believing in his own stuff more than anyone on our staff. He has
David Mever
pitched with a lot of confidence."
In his last outing, a 5-0 victory on March 11 against George Mason, Meyer pitched seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out three.
the *break* is nice in me that it'a a *break*
preparation when I get ready to pitch
Kansas is 13-4 after a three-game series sweep of the Colorado State Rams over the weekend. Arkansas is last night's game with Kansas Stale.
Bingham said the game would give the Jayhawks a chance to see how far they have come since the last series.
"We have much more confidence now," he said. "The game will show us how our team has improved."
Meyer pitched three and two-thirds innings in the third game of the Arkansas series in Fayetteville on Feb. 23, not allowing a hit. The familiarity with the Razorback hitters will help when he pitches today, he said.
"Since I've gone through their order and shut them down it will help mentally," he said. "But it won't change how I will pitch."
Las Vegas bookies set NCAA title odds
The Associated Press
The Blue Devils are followed by Indiana at 3-1 and Kansas at 5-2, while UCLA and Ohio State are both 5-1 picks in the tournament, according to odds posted at Bally's hotel-casino.
LAS VEGAS — Defending champion Duke is a 9-5 favorite to win the NCAA tournament for a second straight time, according to odds set by a Las Vegas sports book.
For the first time since 1988, betters will be able to bet on specific teams to win the tournament in Nevada's legal jurisdiction before the tournament even begins.
In 1988, the Nevada Gaming Control Board banned futures betting on eams until both-in-state teams, UNLV and UNR, had been eliminated.
Bettors can get their best value at
The sports book posted odds on only 40 of the 64 teams, with the remaining 24 teams being lumped in a field bet of 20-1.
Bally's with Southwest Missouri State and East Tennessee State, who both have 150-1 odds to emerge from the tournament as national champion.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants, however, listed odds on all the teams. The company supplies odds to a number of Las Vegas sports books.
Duke was listed as 3-1 favorite by Las Vegas Sports Consultants oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough, followed by Raleigh and Indiana and Auckland. UCL Awasi-6.1.
Roxborough listed Howard University, Campbell University, Mississippi Valley State and Robert Morris University as 1,000-underdogs to win the national championship.
Here are the top 25 teams in The Associated Press 1991-92 college basketball球赛 (records through March 15 in parentheses), and last
Top 25 AP Polls
Previous Women
Previous
1. Duke (28-2) 1 1. Virginia (29-1) 1
**2. Kansas (26-4)** 3 2. Tennessee (27-2) 2
1. Ohio St. (23-5) 5 3. Stanford (25-3) 3
5. Indiana (25-4) 8 4. Stephen F. Austin (27-2) 4
10. UCLA (25-6) 9 5. Louisiana (27-2) 5
6. Kentucky (26-6) 10 6. Missouri (29-1)
7. UNLV (26-2) 7 7. Iowa (25-3) 7
8. California (23-5) 10 8. Maryland (23-5) 8
9. Arkansas (25-7) 6 9. Penn St. (23-6) 9
10. Arizona (24-6) 2 10. SW Missouri St. (27-2) 10
11. Oklahoma St. (26-7) 11 11. Purdue (22-6) 12
12. Cincinnati (25-4) 12 12. Texas Tech (26-4) 14
13. Alabama (25-8) 17 13. Vanderbilt (20-8) 15
14. Michigan St. (21-7) 16 14. Virginia (25-3) 11
15. Michigan St. (20-8) 14 15. W Kentucky (24-6) 13
16. Missouri (20-8) 13 16. George Washington (24-6) 17
17. Massachusetts (28-4) 22 **17. Kansas (25-5)**
18. North Carolina (21-9) 20 18. Alabama (22-6) 18
19. Seton Hall (21-8) 15 19. Texas (21-9) 22
20. Florida St. (20-9) 18 20. Clemson (20-9) 23
21. Syracuse (21-9) — 21. Creighton (27-3) 23
22. Georgetown (21-9) — 22. Houston (22-7) — 19
23. Georgia St. (21-8) — 24. Southern Cal. (21-7) — —
24. DePaul (20-8) — 19. California St. (21-7) — —
25. LSU (20-9) — 23. UC Santa Barbara (26-4) — —
(tie) Vermont (29-0)
Switzer lawsuit continues
JustinKnupp/KANSAN
AUSTIN, Texas—A state judge yesterday declined to act on allegations that a law firm representing Barry Switzer improperly contacted a witness in a reporter" $30 million lawsuit against the former Oklahoma football coach.
The Associated Press
Over the wire
Jack Ayres, a lawyer for reporter Jack Taylor Jr., said that a woman working for defense lawyer David Donaldson last week telephoned witness Robert Blanchard, a journalism professor and textbook writer from Trinity University.
Trying to clear the practice rope over the pole vault pit, Chris Walters, Lawrence sophomore, works on his pole vaulting technique. The Kansas track teams were practicing yesterday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
The woman, Jennifer Scott, asked Blanchard about procedures in writing nonfiction books and investigative reporting. Ayres said.
Blanchard testified vesterday on behalf of Taylor, a Los Angeles Daily News reporter who has accused Switzer of libel, slander and invasion of privacy for linking him to an alleged conspiracy to plant drugs on Oklahoma football player Brad McBride around the time of the 1988 Orange Bowlin Miami.
Switzer's lawyers say that the chapter dealing with Taylor, a former Dallas Times Herald reporter, in "Bootleger's Boy" is substantially true. Switzer also has filed a $6 million counter claim, alleging Taylor illegally obtained his income tax returns.
Scott is the daughter of Patricia Wightman, a legal assistant and secretary in Donaldson's firm. Donaldson said that Scott was working on a special assignment for his firm, but that any contact with Blanchard was coincidental.
Co-defendants in the case are co-author Edwin Allen "Bud" Shrake Jr.; Switzer's brother, Don Switzer; and publishing company William Morrow & Co. Inc.
Aryes said that Scott initially told Blanchard that she was doing independent research, then called back and identified herself as representing Donaldson's law firm. Blanchard said he could not talk to her about the case.
Washington will face protege
Bv Codv Holt
Kansan sportswriter
When Kansas takes the court tomorrow night against Southwest Missouri State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it will be business as usual for both coaches.
For four years, from 1977 to 1980, Burnett labored under the guidance of Washington as a member of the Kansas women's basketball team.
Neither Kansas coach Marian Washington nor SMSU coach Cheryl Burnett wants their personal relationship to be a factor in the game.
Now, Burnett will try to one-up her mentor in the first round of the NCAA
*“There are a lot of times in a coaches life when she has to put all of the emotion aside," Burnett said. "This will be one of those times."
"I'm sure Roy knows what it is like," Washington said. "It will bring to the game an emotional element unlike any other in the season."
Washington said that she thought the reunion would be similar to that of men's basketball coach Roy Williams and North Carolina coach Dean Smith, whom Williams served under as an assistant coach for 10 years at North Carolina. Williams faced Smith in last year's national semi-final game in Indianapolis. Kansas won the game 79-73 to right the play for the national championship against Duke.
Washington said that she had tried to schedule games with SMSU in the past but was unable to do so because of scheduling conflicts.
Burnett said that she was not willing to play Kansas in her first years at SMSU because she did not think that her team was ready. She said that there were scheduling problems once she felt her team could compete with a team the caliber of Kansas.
Regardless, both coaches realize the importance of their first game on the field.
"All specifics go out the window when the ball goes up," Washington said. "After that, our only concern is winning."
A Kansas victory may require beating a mirror-image of Washington's Jayhawks. The similarities are obvious between Washington's coaching practices and that of her protege.
Burnett admits that she was influenced by Washington, who preaches
Burnett said that her Lady Bears also like to run the court, another trait of the Kansas team.
defense. Kansas' defense limits opponents to 56.9 points a game, sixth nationally, only to be outdone by SMSU's No.3 ranked defense, limiting opponents to 56.3 points a game.
With all of the similarities of the two teams, both coaches said that they were more concerned with the playing of the game rather than the emotion of the reunion.
"I guess we'll walk out there and shake each other's hand before the game like any other two coaches." Burnett said. "After that it's business as usual. We're both going to try our best to win the game."
Jordan struggles through tourney
By Lyle Niedens
Kansan sportswriter
Adonis Jordan said he couldn't remember the last time Kansas coach Roy Williams benched him for an extended period of time during a game.
Then again, before the Big Eight Tournament, Williams had little reason not to play the junior point guard.
But Jordan, a first team All-Big Eight selection, had a tough time while Kansas captured the Big Eight Tournament title.
Averaging 13.9 points a game heading to the tournament, Jordan scored just 18 points in the three tournament games. He hit just 7-of-22 from the field for the tournament, including 2-of-11 from three-point range.
In Kansas' first game against Colorado on Friday, Jordan was held scoreless and fouled out of the ballgame with 3:01 left.
It was the first time in 62 games that Jordan did not score, dating back to his freshman season when Kansas lost to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It also was only the second time in his career that he fouled out.
Jordan bounced back somewhat with a 12-point effort against Oklahoma in the semifinals, but found himself struggling again Sunday against
Oklahoma State — so much that Williams benched him for a six-minute stretch during the second half. Jordan had yet to score in the game.
"Coach felt that defensively, I wasn't being aggressive," Jordan said. "So I sat down and thought about it for a while."
But Jordan said it was not lack of scoring that caused him to be relegated to the bench. It was more for an attitude adjustment.
"I got very upset with Adonis," said Williams, who said Jordan's lack of intensity was the reason for the bench ride. Jordan said that Williams was just doing what he thought was best.
"He has a job to do." he said. "I would have done the same in his shoes."
Time spent contemplating while on the bench helped clear his mind, Jordan said. After he returned, he scored 27 goals in the last 3:30 as Kansas men 66-57.
"I was a little down, but when I was sitting on the bench and saw we were winning, I wanted to be a part of that." Jordan said. So Jordan requested that Williams put him back in, and Williams complied.
Although Jordan had trouble scoring, his ballhandling did not suffer. He committed only four turnovers in 92 tournament minutes while dishing out 10 assists.