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Mock my mock: Drafting from the No. 12 spot

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The fantasy season is almost upon us which means it's time to bring back my yearly article about how to approach your fantasy draft depending on where you are drafting. I will write two more versions of this article where I draft from the No. 6 spot, and another where I have the No.1 pick. For this exercise I will draft from No. 12 but with a bit of a twist. This is a standard draft that I participated in and I did not take a running back until the third round. I wanted to see if I could build a team I would like without taking a running back early. My advice to everyone is to attack running back in the first two rounds if possible, but if you don't like who's left on the board, you do have options. Try to get at least one of these running backs with one of your first two picks.

McCaffrey, Barkley, Elliott, Kamara, Cook, Sanders, Edwards-Helaire, Jacobs, Ekler, Henry, Chubb. (If you're in a standard league I would take Henry right after Cook).

Here's what my team looked like when I avoided running back in the first 2 rounds. Keep in mind this is a standard draft, which is unusual for me. My next 2 mocks will deal with PPR. Let's get started!

1. D. Adams WR

2. T. Hill WR

3. J. Conner RB

4. J. Taylor RB

5. K. Hunt RB

6. A. Green WR

7. H. Henry TE

8. M. Mack RB

9. M. Ryan QB

After my 9th pick I put my team on autodraft, but this gives you a good picture of what a team drafting in the No. 12 spot could look like. This team is actually pretty solid. Adams and Hill are great in standard leagues because of big play ability and TD production. Since I took receivers with my first 2 picks, I knew I would target the running back position next. Getting Conner with the last pick of the 3rd round felt like a steal, and I love Jonathan Taylor's upside. I think he could breakout like Zeke Elliott did as a rookie, but with the COVID-shortened offseason, these rookies may take a while to get going. I don't expect him to put up Zeke's rookie year numbers, but I think their talent is similar. Because of the unusual offseason, I made sure to draft Marlon Mack in the 8th round. I can roll with him until Taylor takes off. If I didn't take Taylor in Round 4, Melvin Gordon, Le'Veon Bell, and Ronald Jones would have been my other options. Gordon is the only other back I would have considered there, but I like Taylor better than Gordon.

This league starts 1QB, 2RBs, 2WRs, 1Flex, 1TE, 1 Defense and a Kicker. So having either A.J. Green or Kareem Hunt as my flex is pretty nice. In Round 10 I would likely have drafted Hayden Hurst. This is a good year to take a couple of TEs and see which one works out best. Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers were both available at the end of Round 9, so there's no need to reach for a QB.

Okay, that's all I have for this edition of Mock My Mock. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or hit me up on Twitter.

@JoshJordan975 is where you can find me. Or you can catch Jerry Bo and me on MoneyLine, Sundays 10-noon on ESPN 97.5 FM. You can also watch the show on Twitch.

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The Coogs play Miami on Friday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Number one seed University of Houston is favored by 7.5 points over No. 5 Miami, and No. 2 University of Texas is favored by 4 over No. 3 Xavier Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Kansas City.

Talk about opening acts. If both UH and UT win, they’ll meet Sunday in a good ol’ WWE-style Texas death match for a berth in the Final Four at NRG Stadium in Houston. Thank you, Mr. Schedule Maker.

How much do you think Cougar fans would love for UH to get their hands on the Longhorns with so much at stake?

For one example, let’s go back to the future, Oct. 21, 2023, when Big 12 rivals UH and UT meet in football at TDECU Stadium on the Houston campus. The game already is a lock sellout with tickets in the upper deck commanding $141 per ticket on the secondary market. It will be UH’s first year in the big boy Big 12 and UT’s last go-around before heading to the SEC.

One last opportunity for lasting bragging rights.

That’s for a UH football game. At home. Where the Cougars typically have trouble packing half the house. For example, the Cougars will be hosting the Sam Houston Bearkats at TDECU Stadium a month earlier. Tickets for that game, the same exact seat going for $141 against UT, can be had right now … $17.

Yeah, there’s something special about UH getting the opportunity to face UT. In anything. Anywhere. And it’s been a long time since the two teams, once co-members of the Southwest Conference together, have met on the basketball court. A full decade, in fact. The last time they played was March 20, 2013 with the Cougars prevailing 73-72 in something called the College Basketball Invitational. The UH coach was James Dickey. UT was coached by Rick Barnes. Joe Young led the Cougars with 18 points. The Horns’ leading scorer was Julien Lewis with 28. UH finished that season with a 20-13 record. UT limped home at 16-18.

That was then, this is now. The UH-Miami game will air at 6:10 p.m. Friday on CBS with UH grad Jim Nantz calling the play-by-play. The game will alsO stream on Hulu +++. ESPN’s BPI (basketball power index) gives the Cougars a 90 percent chance of winning. We’ll take it.

The UT-Xavier game will follow at 8:45 p.m. on CBS. The Horns have a 70 percent chance of beating the Musketeers. If both chalks come through, they’ll meet Sunday afternoon with the game on CBS.

The Cougars have made six Final Four appearances: 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2021. The Horns have made three Final Fours, the last time two decades ago.

Here’s the only sure bet if UH and UT meet Sunday - get to your sports bar early if you want a seat. This could be memorable.

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