COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT
NCAA Hoops: Texas, Oklahoma, and Baylor need to show out in Big XII Tournament
Mar 6, 2018, 12:00 pm
The Big XII tournament kicks off tomorrow with several teams in need of wins to have a shot to play in the NCAA tournament. Here are a few things to know going into the conference championship.
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, March 7th
GAME 1: No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma (ESPNU) 6 PM
GAME 2: No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Iowa State (ESPNU) 8 PM
Thursday, March 8th
GAME 3: No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 5 TCU (ESPN2) 11:30 AM
GAME 4: No. 1 Kansas vs. Game 1 winner (ESPN2) 1:30 PM
GAME 5: No. 2 Texas Tech vs. Game 2 winner (ESPN2) 6 PM
GAME 6: No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 6 Baylor (ESPN2) 8 PM
Friday, March 9th
GAME 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner (ESPN 2) 6 PM
GAME 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (ESPN2) 8 PM
Saturday March 10th
GAME 9-Championship Game: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (ESPN) 5 PM
ODDS:
Kansas +200
West Virginia +350
Texas Tech +450
Kansas State +700
TCU +1000
Baylor +1200
Texas +2000
Oklahoma +2000
Oklahoma State +2000
Iowa State +2500
THE STAKES:
Kansas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kansas State and TCU are all solidly locked into tournament spots. Iowa State can’t make the tournament without winning the conference tourney. That leaves Baylor, Texas and the Oklahoma schools as bubble teams. With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State going up against each other in the first game, one of them could be eliminated early on. For Oklahoma, a first round win may be enough to lock in their spot. Oklahoma State would likely need a win over Kansas to get an at-large bid. Texas absolutely has to beat Iowa State, and would need a good showing against Texas Tech on Thursday to have a shot. This isn’t out of the question, given that Keenan Evans is clearly not at 100% health. Baylor could get onto the right side of the bubble with a win over West Virginia. Overall, the conference should send a minimum of 6 teams to the dance, with 8 teams being the ceiling.
PREDICTIONS:
Oklahoma State def. Oklahoma
Texas def. Iowa State
TCU def. Kansas State
Kansas def. Oklahoma State
Texas Tech def. Texas
Baylor def. West Virginia
Kansas def. TCU
Baylor def. Texas Tech
Kansas def. Baylor
With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.