There’s no month-long stretch in the college basketball season more exciting than the one which is about to begin. That rings especially true for KU, first with all-world freshman Kevin Durant coming to town Saturday, followed by the Big 12 Tournament and the 65-team March Madness field. Sporting News senior writer Mike DeCourcy, who has covered 17 Final Fours in his 25-year run of writing features and columns on college athletics will join KUSports.com Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to talk about anything your college hoops-craving heart desires.

Moderator

Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s chat. I’m Ryan Greene, your KUSports.com editor, and I’ll be moderating today’s session with Mike DeCourcy from the Sporting News. Mike is as knowledgeable as they come in the college hoops world, and we’ve been lucky enough to grab him today for 30 minutes before he’ll appear on The Hot List on ESPN News at 4:40 p.m. Central (Check it out, everyone). Mike, thanks so much for joining us. As someone who’s done this for some time now, do you still get that same thrill every year when March (a.k.a. National College Basketball Month) rolls around?

Mike DeCourcy

I do. I’m busier than most college basketball fans at this time of year, save for CPAs and the folks who work at H&R Block. But I do love it.

Moderator

Well your schedule is tight, and we’ve got plenty of interesting queries, so lets get to it…

DerekR25

Mike, I was just wondering who you have as #1 seeds and who you have as #2 seeds in the NCAA Tourney? Also, whether KU is a #1 or #2, do we still have a chance either way to play closer to home, or do you think we’ll get sent out to the coast?

Mike DeCourcy

Until last night, I still had North Carolina as a No. 1 seed, but I don’t see how the Tar Heels can get that now unless everybody else steps back or they win the ACC Tournament.
Right now, it’d be UCLA (No. 1 overall), Ohio State, Kansas and probably Wisconsin. Florida is very much alive. A&M and UNC took big hits this week. Helped the Jayhawks, though.

nddhawk

Mike,

How does KU stack up against teams like OSU, UNC, and Memphis, teams that are relatively young and full of talent?

Mike DeCourcy

KU is as talented as anyone. I argued with a UNC fan earlier this year who said no one was close to them, saying KU was. I think right now it looks like the Jayhawks might have more; either way, they have a better idea of what they want to do. I still think Kansas can improve its offensive execution, but it’s much better now than it was when I saw them vs. A&M.

boomer1110

Mike,
The biggest difference between this year’s KU team and last year’s squad is the addition and dynamic play of Sherron Collins and the inside work of Darrell Arthur. Essentially, they replaced Jeff Hawkins and Christian Moody. That’s a significant talent difference. Do you see those additions as being sufficient to move KU forward (to the Final Four) realizing there are no seniors and only 3 juniors on the team?

Mike DeCourcy

Others among the elite are young: Ohio State, UNC. Florida won the title with a lot less experience than KU has now. I think the biggest difference in the team is that Mario, BRush, Julian and Sasha all are veterans now. Although I do love what Sherron brings to the team.

frompekka2sasha

Hey Mike,

Thanks for coming by to help explain the tourney. Why in the world is Ohio St. a lock for a #1 seed yet KU has no chance? Ohio St. doesn’t have many big wins and the Big 10 is comparable to the Big 12 this year.

Thanks

Mike DeCourcy

KU has a great chance now, and OSU never was a lock. The biggest reason OSU would be ahead of KU in line is that the mid-level teams in the Big Ten are slightly more accomplished than those in the Big 12. Beating teams 3,4,5 in the Big Ten gets you a top 50 win; not so for KU. Also, KU’s got a tougher time explaining its losses than OSU does atoning for at Florida, at UNC, at Wisconsin.

Raider

Mike,

I enjoy listening to you on Sports Radio 810 in Kansas City each week. How many teams do you think the Big 12 will get in the tournament, and do you think Texas Tech will be chosen before K-State? What seed does Tech get?

Thanks!

Mike DeCourcy

A lot of that still is to be decided, obviously. KU, A&M, Texas are locks right now. They will be in on the first ballot when the committee meets on Wednesday. Right now, the next choice would be Tech. It very easily could get in ahead of KState, but Huggins and Co. can change that by selection sunday. I think Tech would likely be a 10 seed or so. Hey, anything’s better than 8/9.

Moderator

Speaking of Texas, are you going to be watching tomorrow’s KU/Texas contest? It seems to be the new wave of college basketball on full display, with not a single senior on either roster.

Mike DeCourcy

I hope I have the chance. That game is split regionally, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be getting Ohio State-Michigan on the local affiliate. I’ve got DirecTV with a spillover channel, so maybe there’s a chance.
We’ve been getting used to the no-seniors thing for a while. I love senior night, but I love watching great players most.

JayCeph

Mike, thanks for taking the time to entertain some of our questions. I think I might have a convoluted query here so bear with me…

There is so much emphasis on seeding for the NCAA tournament predicated on a team’s RPI. But lately, there seems to be a push from some pundits to look elsewhere for a more accurate reflection of team’s credentials such as the Sagarin Rankings, overall wins vs. losses, etc. If you take all of those into account and weigh them against a team’s AP/USAToday/ESPN ranking, in your opinion, what should ultimately impact the committee’s decision in regard to seeding the tourney? Furthermore, does any of it really matter in a one-and-done format?

Mike DeCourcy

I don’t know what pundits are saying that, unless it’s Sagarin himself. I don’t care for the Sagarin ratings for two reasons: margin of victory and his preseason ranking. He says the preseason ranking gets factored out of it by the end. I’m not enough of a math guy to know, but I’m enough of a hoops guy not to give a darn. Overall wins and losses is a bad factor. The polls are a joke. I think the use of the RPI is very effective, because again, it’s not a straight ranking — and it’s amazing how effective it is when you get to the end of this.
You can look at a team and what it’s done and say, Nope, not a tournament team. And then you find that team in the 60s or 70s. It really works.
The only thing the committee has wrong is the use of the last 10. It’s in there for the wrong reasons and it’s got to go.

Moderator

OK guys, we’ve got time for three more quick ones before Mike’s gotta jet…

deckbd

Mike,
Dick Vitale got himself in a little trouble earlier this week when he was on a radio talk show and revealed that Billy Donovan said NBA scouts would be wrong to draft Noah ahead of Horford. Do you think any of this could affect the team chemistry going into the tourney?

Mike DeCourcy

Bring ’em on!

Mike DeCourcy

Those guys really do like each other, and I think they respect Billy. I doubt that this will be an issue. They’ll both get drafted really high. If Florida loses, there’ll be other reasons.

georgeJhawk

There has been some discussion about raising the age limit for the NBA to 20. Do you think this will happen, and if so, what effect will it have on the college game?

Mike DeCourcy

David Stern initially campaigned for 20. The NBA Players Association was cool with that, because many of its player/leaders hated what was happening to the game and wanted the teenagers out. It was the agents who stopped it, putting huge pressure on the union to stand fast against the rule. Well, Stern couldn’t afford to just give up on this, because he would have looked bad. But he wasn’t giving up on a good labor deal for it. So they settled at 19. Everybody but the agents would prefer 20. If you can convince them …

darnelljackson32

Who are your darkhorses for the tournament? Who do you think will stumble early in the tournament?

Mike DeCourcy

Darkhorse: Maryland could get to the Final Four. If Georgia Tech gets past the first round, look out. Arizona is talented enough to go a long way.
I don’t think many of the Big Tens, save for OSU/Wisconsin, are sticking around long.

Mike DeCourcy

Time for one more, if there is one.

Moderator

Ah, you had to call out the Big Ten (big Michigan fan here, thanks a lot). But you should be fine, as the Wolverines might change your opinion tomorrow. KU/Texas tips at 11, and OSU/Michigan is at 3 (Central that is)…Hey Mike, thanks again tons for joining us, and we hope to have you possibly again during the NCAA Tourney…

Mike DeCourcy

Be glad to, Ryan. KU fans are great fans of the game, and I do appreciate it.

Moderator

And thanks to all of our readers who posted questions. We’ll see you again next week in the Chat Room.