ODDS AND ENDS | I'm putting this here because this is big news and I'm pretty sure that it will be posted multiple times, because that's how things roll. Per the LAJ and the Texas Tribune, Texas Tech is now eligible for Tier One funding pending a state-mandated audit. I also think that UH also qualified pending the audit as well, and I think it's a good thing to have multiple schools be part of the Tier One club.
I've always said that Pat Knight was more honest than most coaches in his comments to the press and that was the case when his Lamar Cardinals team, who are 17-11 on the year, had this to say after a loss to SFA:
Knight interrupted senior guard Mike James as he was answering a question from reporters and said, "Alright I'm next, you don't have a clue what it takes to win a game."
James then stormed off the podium and Knight proceeded to berate the seniors on his squad.
"I'm unhappy with these seniors, that's what I'm unhappy with, it has nothing to do with X's and O's. We've got the worst group of seniors that I've ever been associated with"
Knight's criticism of certain members of his team then shifted from the game itself to their careers at Lamar. "We've had problems with these guys off the court, on the court, classroom, drugs, I mean, being late for stuff, all that stuff correlates together if you're going to win games," Knight said.
There's video at the link and I have no idea what to say here.
TEXAS TECH SOFTBALL AND TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | The official site has previews of the softball team as they travel to Waco for a tournament and the men host the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic. I have a preview of the baseball team scheduled for later this morning.
RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes that the players say that the team is physically prepared, but its the mental mistakes that are the problem. I think I'd have to disagree with the premise slightly. I think the players are physically in shape, there's no doubt about that, but the other part of being physically prepared is that they have to be able to sustain that shape over the course of a game and the players have to be physically mature. Neither one of those things are happening, whether that be because of lack of depth or because the players simply tire after playing 35 or 40 minutes. Don't get me wrong, the mental mistakes are also there, evidenced by the turnovers, but physically, there is a distinct difference between this team and most other teams in the Big 12. Kosmider presents something to think about for sure:
In the rematch inside Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Tech’s improved physicality, its enhanced toughness, helped produce a 32-28 halftime lead — Tech outrebounded Iowa State 18-14 during the period — and the teams were virtually deadlocked through the first 32 minutes.
But the final eight minutes — when Tech’s only two points came at the free-throw line as a neck-and-neck affair turned into a 72-54 loss — illustrated that the Red Raiders’ all-too-common, self-inflicted mistakes are as prevalent at the end of February as they were in early November.
TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | I couldn't find any football commits on Twitter this morning, I know you're disappointed. There's really not any news out there, and I've been saving this link for a while, but California Golden Blogs has a post on a methodology of quarterback efficiency. They rank all of the quarterbacks overall and also rank the QB's in the Big 12. Before clicking, here's the formula and I'd love for you to guess how Doege did in the Big 12 and nationally:
QB Score = Total Yards - (3 x Plays) - (50 x Turnovers)
QB Seth Doege ended up with a QB Score of 1,645, which was good for 4th in the Big 12, behind Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Oklahoma St.'s Brandon Weeden and Oklahoma's Landry Jones. Doege also finished 17th nationally. Doege was by no means perfect last year and his play did fall off during conference play (as did the entire team), but I still think that he's going to be better this year and this will be a good way for us to measure Doege's improvement.
AAS's Kirk Bohls writes that the BCS will eventually go to a playoff (the BCS folks apparently met in Dallas the last few days) but don't expect a 16 team playoff as those in power want to protect the regular season.