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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014
PAGE 11
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"You'd think he is like 40, 41, one of those older guys, because his knowledge is off the charts. It's really crazy that he is only a few years older than us. He was raised by a legend."
Minnesota guard DeAndre
Mathieu on Richard Pitino
—— USA Today
FACT OF THE DAY
University of Central Florida made the tournament in 1996 with a record of 10-18, making it the team with the worst record to ever make the NCAA'tournament.
USA Today
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: North Dakota State's head coach Paul Phillips left after last season ended. What school does he currently coach at?
A: Ohio
— ESPN
THE MORNING BREW
Early games can make or break a college basketball season
College basketball's biggest games will take place in March, but most teams'
children,but most teams seasons or tournament contention hopes will be defined by the first few weeks of the year.
Kansas basketball starts its season quickly, with the second regular season game of the year against top-ranked Kentucky in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. Afterward, the Jayhawks play a series of unranked teams in the Orlando Classic before a matchup with seventh- ranked Florida in December.
Kansas' results in games against Florida and Kentucky will set the tone for the rest of the season. Still, a loss to either Kentucky or Florida would not make or break the season. It would be a surprise if the Jayhawks didn't win an eleventh-straight Big XII title.
Smaller programs, however, have more at stake in the first few weeks of the season.
UC Santa Barbara could make a huge statement with a road win, or
Rick Pitino's Louisville will be pitted against his son Richard Pitino's Minnesota team Friday night in a game that would be more than just a win against his father for Richard Pitino. Minnesota narrowly missed the tournament last year but won the NIT.
at least a respectable performance, against the Jayhawks on Friday night. The Gauchos went 21-9 last season and missed the tournament.
that game is huge for Minnesota, a team that arguably should have made the tournament last season. It is early statement wins that can put a team inside or outside the bubble. Look at a team like North Dakota
State. The Bison made the NCAA tournament last year with a 26-7 record and a Summit League championship. They ended up sending 5-seed Oklahoma home in the first game of the NCAA tournament.
Right now, North Dakota State doesn't have a single ranked opponent on its schedule except for the 10th-ranked Texas Longhorns. If the Bison can't
repeat a Summit League championship and a tournament berth, it might be because of a weak schedule. A potential upset against Texas on Friday could make or break the season for NDSU.
With a young team that features only one senior, Lawrence Alexander, NDSU doesn't look set to repeat as a 12-seed in the tournament. The team's fate might hinge on an upset win against Texas or a win in the conference tournament at the end of the year.
The early going in college basketball is certainly a lot more meaningful than in college football. Instead of landslide-loss cash grabs for small schools, some bubble teams have opportunities
to make a quick case for the NCAA tournament.
The precarious position of topranked teams as the season quickly picks up highlights the parity of college basketball. It is inevitable that there will be surprising upsets in March, but the real test for small-conference schools and bubble teams is to use strength of schedule to their advantage.
Edited by Jacob Clemen
This week in athletics
Wednesday
Women's volleyball
Kansas State
7 p.m.
Manhattan
Thursday
No events
Friday
Men's basketball UC Santa Barbara 7 p.m. Lawrence
Saturday
Cross country NCAA Midwest Regional Noon Peoria, III.
Football
TCU
2 p.m.
Lawrence
Sunday
Women's basketball
South Dakota
2 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's soccer
Missouri
1 p.m.
Lawrence
Monday
No events
Tuesday
Men's basketball
Kentucky
8 p.m.
Indianapolis, Ind.
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
TCU jumps to No.4 in College Football Playoff rankings
For TCU, a potential berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff never has felt closer.
The Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-1 in Big 12) climbed to No. 4 in Tuesday's updated CFP rankings, inside the projected four-tour mix of playoff participants.
But the Horned Frogs' climb, which allowed them to pass No. 5 Alabama (8-1) in the race for the pivotal fourth position, should come with the same warning that drivers see when checking their rearview mirrors: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."
In TCU's case, the most notable object to monitor is No. 7 Baylor. The Bears (8-1, 5-1), who share the Big 12 lead with TCU and defeated the Frogs 61-58 on Oct. 11, climbed five
spots in Week Three of the CFP rankings, released after two days of face-to-face meetings in Grapevine.
Unlike in past weeks, when CFP officials cited the Bears' soft nonconference schedule as a reason to keep the Bears out of their top-10 teams, Baylor received praise Tuesday night from Jeff Long, the CFP committee chairman. Long cited Saturday's 48-14 rout of then-No. 15 Oklahoma, which marked Baylor's first victory in school history in Norman, Okla., as a reason why the Bears are back in the national title mix following a week marked by losses from four of the top 10 teams in last week's CFP rankings.
Tuesday's top two spots, in a shakeup, went to No.1 Mississippi State (9-0) and No.2 Oregon (9-1), which slipped
past No. 3 Florida State (9-0). But the notable moves came from TCU, which slipped past Alabama, and Baylor, which is positioned to capitalize if the frontrunners stumble down the stretch.
TCU opened the most eyes with its climb into the top four, with Long citing the Frogs' 41-20 victory against then-No. 7 Kansas State as a deciding factor to slide TCU ahead of Alabama.
Long said TCU and Alabama remain "so close, they're almost indistinguishable" from one another in the estimation of committee members. But at this point, the CFP folks "give a very slight edge to TCU" in that comparison.
naylor received one of the biggest bounce among Tuesday's climbers, vaulting past a two-loss team from Ole Miss
(8-2) following victories by both schools. That represents a significant step for the Bears because Baylor, like TCU, now finds itself among the nation's top handful of teams with only one loss on its season record.
And the Bears, like TCU, face a favorable closing stretch in efforts to post an 11-1 record and grab a share of the Big 12 title by Dec. 7, when the four-team playoff bracket is set. How committee members compare the two teams over the final four weeks will be pivotal because Baylor can boost its schedule strength with late-season victories against Oklahoma State (5-4, 3-3) and No. 13 Kansas State (7-2, 5-1). TCU, on the other hand, will not face a team with a winning record the rest of the season.
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin (2) is grabbed by Kansas State linebacker Jonathan Truman (21) on Saturday. TCU jumped up the ranks to No. 4.
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