BTD College Basketball Pick'Em: Week 14 Picks
by ConnorOSU on Feb 9, 2010 4:44 PM PST
in BtD Pic 'Em Contests
3 comments
Here we are in Week 14 of College Basketball. The slate features a some great games, with three out of the five matchups pitting ranked teams against each other.
You've got about 24 hours to make your first pick. So, here are your Week 14 Picks. All times are Pacific.
Connecticut @ Syracuse, Wednesday, 4:00 PM
New Mexico @ UNLV, Wednesday, 8:00 PM
West Virginia @ Pittsburgh, Friday, 6:00 PM
Iowa State @ Kansas, Saturday, 5:00 PM
Tennessee @ Kentucky, Saturday, 6:00 PM
Don't forget that even if you miss some games, you can still make your picks. Just the games that have been played before won't count.
Remember to rank your picks on a confidence scale of one to five, with five being the most confident and one being the least. Also, if you miss the first game, then the scale is four to one and so on. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.
I'll have the standings up on either Saturday or Sunday.
BIG NEWS!
Jake and I have finally decided on some prizes for the winner. (Or Runner Up, because I am so much better at picking than all of you!) The winner will receive their choice of one of the three prizes below. And if you don't like one of those, we could probably work something else out. Good Luck!
Prize #1-A book titled "Oregon State Football" by Kip Carlson
Prize #2-A DVD titled "Larry Bird-A Basketball Legend"
Prize #3-A 5 Disc DVD Collector's Set titled "Super Bowl XXI-XXX"
Happy Picking!
3 comments | 0 recs
Pac-10 Moving Up In The Hoops World? Maybe...
by AndyPanda on Feb 8, 2010 7:56 PM PST
2 comments
ESPN 360 has announced their schedule for the week, which includes 79 games. For the first time since the start of the league season, the week's list includes a Pac-10 game, Thursday's Washington at Cal game.
So the Pac-10 has finally climbed to the level such basketball power conferences as the Atlantic Sun and the Summit League. Still some work to do to get to where the conference's pull and exposure can match the American East and the Metro Atlantic.
And while the Oregon St.-Arizona St. game is still a radio only game, at least Saturday's game at Arizona has been picked up by Fox College Sports Pacific channel, though many satellite and cable systems do not include this channel.
The desperate need for either a Pac-10 network, of a significantly improved TV deal, continues to be a glaring need; imagine where we would be without Fox Sports's regional channels.
There may be some hope though. The Pac-10 has just announced the hiring of former Big 12 commissioner and Big Ten executive Kevin Weiberg. His title is Deputy Commissioner and Chief Pperating Officer. So he has the position to make a difference.
2 comments | 0 recs
Monday Links...
by ArbyOSU on Feb 8, 2010 9:56 AM PST
12 comments
So THAT was a nice weekend, wasn't it?
Sure, my Blazers lost to a Kobe-less L*kers squad, but at least my Beavers swept a gasping ducks squad. Jake did a great job of summarizing the game and I bumped it down a level with this stupid post of mine, so please check that out. He includes some good links to other content on there as well. Gotta love the fact that the ducks can't win unless they're wearing pink or playing in the State of Washington.
- On the subject of PAC 10 hoops, Arizona is pulling an SC and self sanctioning after learning of some Lute Olsen era issues. I wish self sanctioning worked in real life. Like I could break the law, then self sanction myself and the cops would let me slide. That would be awesome.
12 comments | 0 recs
More Civil War: So That's What Winning by 20 Feels Like
by Jake Bertalotto on Feb 8, 2010 7:00 AM PST
in Men's Basketball
4 comments
Craig Robinson's post-game comments, bottom of this post...
After an up and down year that many have been quick to classify as a disappointment, the Beavers seem to have found some stability after a 62-42 win over the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. That's the biggest margin of victory for the Beavers over the Ducks since a 94-51 victory in 1982. Also, for Oregon State, it was the first Civil War season sweep since the 1992-1993 season, and yet another sign that Craig Robinson's team is asserting itself as the best in the state. In his two years at Oregon State, Coach Robinson has a 3-4 record against Ernie Kent and the Ducks.
Even with a 4-6 record thus far in conference play, the Beavers are sitting just a game and a half out of second place, and could insert themselves into the league championship conversation with a pair of wins this week in the desert.
This is the point in the season in which Oregon State needs to take a quality win and build on it. The Beavers have been lacking stability and consistency this season, and now would be a great time to put that criticism to bed. It seems that Omari Johnson is back in form, joining with Calvin Haynes and Roeland Schaftenaar to form a talented veteran trio. Throw in freshman Jared Cunningham, who has been playing out of his backside, and we could have a interesting second half of the season.
The Beavers will begin with Arizona State and Arizona this week, before hosting first-place California and the struggling Stanford Cardinal. After that, the Beavers will go back on the road and play UCLA and USC, before ending the regular season with the Washington schools at home.
SBN's Addicted to Quack weighs in on the game...
I think it's natural to look at this game as another setback for Oregon, but I think it's more accurate to view it as a bad match-up. The Beavers' stingy defense has twice stunted the Ducks, completely taking them out of their transition game and causing them to turn the ball over and force highly contested shots. It also didn't help that Oregon shot a mere 60% from the free throw line.
Taking away Oregon's transition game was huge for the Beavers, and they kept that up the entire game. Despite being near the bottom of the conference standings, the Ducks are still one of the streakiest teams in the Pac-10, and it doesn't take much for them to turn the tides in a game. All they need is a little momentum for the tempo to increase and for the breaks to start going their way-- and the Beavers didn't let it happen. The Beavers only allowed four fast break baskets all game.
Bob Clark of the Register-Guard points out that there was a large difference in the shooting percentages:
There was a fairly easy way to explain the disparity: The Beavers sliced up Oregon's defense so well that they were credited with 20 assists on their 21 field goals. The Ducks? They had four assists, a low this season by a Pac-10 team and a definite contributing factor in Oregon's lowest point total against the Beavers since a 29-23 loss to OSU in 1984, before the shot clock.
The overall team performance was great to see. Especially against Oregon's zones... you just don't see those assist numbers against a zone every day. The zone defense generally forces teams to shoot mid to long-range contested jump shots, but the Beavers were able to work inside and consistently made the extra pass. It also didn't help Oregon's case that they turned the ball over 17 times.
Pac-10 standings below, and Craig Robinson's post-game thoughts after the break.
As you can see, Stanford has plummeted thanks to three straight losses, the Oregon schools are still at the bottom of the standings, and there's a big logjam in second place. As I suggested earlier, if the Beavers were to win both of their games this week, that would put them in the top half of the standings and put them in great position for the final six games of the season. And judging by Oregon State's showings against both UA and ASU earlier in the year, a sweep this week definitely is attainable.
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)
4 comments | 1 recs |
Super Bowl XLIV Open Thread: Kyle DeVan and the Colts vs. the Saints
by Jake Bertalotto on Feb 7, 2010 3:17 PM PST
in Football
4 comments
Super Bowl XLIV is set to kickoff from Miami in just a few minutes. The game features former Oregon State offensive lineman Kyle DeVan, who is the starting right tackle for the Indianapolis Colts.
SBNation.com has you covered: Saints-Colts, Super Bowl XLIV: Your Excuse To Party On A School Night
Who you got?
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)
4 comments | 0 recs
BTD College Basketball Pick'Em Standings: Week 13
by ConnorOSU on Feb 7, 2010 1:27 PM PST
in BtD Pic 'Em Contests
2 comments
Once again, there isn't much shakeup in the standings after an interesting week in the BTD College Basketball Pick'Em.
The week started with Wisconsin knocking off Michigan State in Madison. The next night West Virginia demolished Pittsburgh in Morgantown. Following that, Kansas knocked off Colorado in Overtime. The next night, Duke beat Georgia Tech in Cameron Indoor Stadium. In the last game of the week, Georgetown knocked off Villanova in Washington DC.
So, here are your Week 13 Standings.
Place Name Total Score
1st ConnorOSU 166 Points
2nd C_hawkfan 144 Points
3rd Figgi4life 140 Points
4th Jimmy James 131 Points
5th cloudydays 91 Points
6th The VD Special 73 Points
7th sdfan21 46 Points
8th Jake Bertalotto 39 Points
9th cmr 30 Points
10th Tortuga12 24 Points
2 comments | 0 recs
Oh My Omari! Johnson Leads Beavers Past Ducks 62-42
by AndyPanda on Feb 6, 2010 8:46 PM PST
in Men's Basketball
19 comments
Final Score: Oregon St. 62 Oregon 42
Omari Johnson had 16 of his season high, and game leading, 18 points in the first half, which helped Oregon St. jump out to a 32-25 halftime lead over Oregon. Then the Beaver's 1-3-1 zone defense that had held Oregon without a field goal for over six minutes to start the game took over.
Only a Matthew Humphrey three pointer interrupted what was an otherwise eight minute scoring drought for the Ducks. Meanwhile the Beavers built a 14 point, 47-33 lead.
Another three and a half minute Oregon scoring dry spell followed, and with five minutes left in the game, Oregon St. had run off a 27-9 stretch, and taken their largest lead of the game, up 25 points, 59-34.
The Beavers coasted home to the 20 point win that was their largest margin of victory over the Ducks in 28 years, since a 43 point win in 1982. The win also gave Oregon St. their first sweep of the basketball Civil War in 17 seasons.
19 comments | 0 recs |
Game 22 Open Thread: Oregon State vs. Oregon
by Jake Bertalotto on Feb 6, 2010 1:00 PM PST
in Men's Basketball
19 comments
Oregon at Oregon State / 3:00 PM, Gill Coliseum / TV on FSN
The Beavers won the first battle for in-state supremacy, and that was at MacArthur Court. Now, the rivalry shifts to Gill Coliseum, where the Beavers will look to improve to 4-6 in Pac-10 play as they take on the Oregon Ducks.
Tipoff is set for just past 3:00 on FSN. Here's the place for you to discuss the game.
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)
19 comments | 0 recs
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