College Confidential

Kentucky, Kansas given best odds to win 2014 NCAA men's BKB title in Cowboys Stadium #kentucky, #kansas

With the recent addition of Andrew Wiggins, one of the nation’s top-ranked high school recruits, Kansas joins Kentucky among the early favorites to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.bovada.lv).

Based on today’s odds posted by the website, the primary teams to track as likely participants in the 2014 Final Four, to be held April 5-7, 2014 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, will be Kentucky (5/1 title odds), Kansas (11/2), Louisville (17/2) and Michigan State (12/1).

Louisville won last month’s 2013 title in Atlanta, defeating Michigan, 82-76, in the championship game.
Among Texas-based colleges, the teams with the best 2014 NCAA title odds are Baylor (50/1), Texas (100-1) and Texas A&M (200-1). Odds for other projected frontrunners in next year’s Big 12 race include Oklahoma State (50-1), Iowa State (100-1), Kansas State (100-1) and Oklahoma (200-1).

Below is a look at all teams that were giving individual odds to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, which will be settled in Arlington:

2013-14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - Odds to Win    
Kentucky                              5/1
Kansas                                 11/2
Louisville                              17/2
Michigan State              12/1
Duke                            14/1
Arizona                                 15/1
North Carolina                    16/1
Florida                                  18/1
Ohio State                    20/1
Syracuse                              25/1
Connecticut                         33/1
Indiana                                  33/1
Memphis                              33/1
Michigan                              33/1
Colorado                              40/1
UCLA                            40/1
Baylor                           50/1
Creighton                      50/1
Georgetown                        50/1
Gonzaga                       50/1
Iowa                                       50/1
Marquette                            50/1
Missouri                               50/1
NC State                       50/1
New Mexico                        50/1
Oklahoma State            50/1
Pittsburgh                            50/1
St. Louis                              50/1
VCU                             50/1
Wisconsin                            50/1
Butler                                     66/1
Illinois                                    66/1
Minnesota                            66/1
St. John's                     66/1
Tennessee                           66/1
UNLV                            66/1
Villanova                       66/1
Virginia                                 66/1
Wichita State                 66/1
Florida State                 75/1
Notre Dame                  75/1
Alabama                               100/1
Arizona State                100/1
BYU                             100/1
California                             100/1
Cincinnati                             100/1
Iowa State                     100/1
Kansas State                100/1
Miami Florida                     100/1
Ole Miss                       100/1
Oregon                                 100/1
Purdue                          100/1
San Diego State            100/1
Stanford                       100/1
Texas                                    100/1
Vanderbilt                     100/1
West Virginia                      100/1
Arkansas                              150/1
Boise State                   150/1
Colorado State              150/1
Dayton                                  150/1
St. Mary's                     150/1
Temple                                  150/1
USC                             150/1
LSU                              150/1
Georgia                                200/1
Georgia Tech                200/1
Harvard                         200/1
Maryland                              200/1
Oklahoma                            200/1
Texas A&M                   200/1
Washington                         200/1
Washington State          200/1
Xavier                           200/1
Clemson                       250/1
Davidson                      250/1
South Carolina                   250/1
St. Joe's                       250/1
Virginia Tech                 250/1
Wake Forest                       250/1
Boston College                 500/1
Northwestern                 500/1
Mississippi State           500/1
 
Andrew Wiggins - Will he be selected #1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft?   
Yes                   -300     (1/3)    
No                    +200     (2/1)
 
Andrew Wiggins - Average PPG in the 2013-14 NCAA Basketball Season?
Over/Under                   18
 
_ Jimmy Burch

TCU hoops land Arkansas transfer (and former Seagoville HS standout) Devonta Abron

Former Arkansas forward Devonta Abron is transferring to TCU, Horned Frogs’ coach Trent Johnson announced Wednesday.
Abron, who attended Seagoville High School, wanted to move back to Texas because of a family health issue, according to CBSSports.com. Abron has applied for a waiver to play next season because of the family health concern. If he’s denied, he’ll have to sit out a year. Either way he’ll have three years of eligibility remaining at TCU.
He averaged 5.7 points, 4.2 rebounds in 32 games, including 22 starts for the Razorbacks last season.
“Devonta is a big addition for our program,” Johnson said in a release. “He is a great kid who has been a starter from a program that has played at a high level in a major conference. He is just another example of the type of player our staff is looking for as we enter the Big 12 Conference next season.”
Abron (6-foot-8, 255 pounds) is the fourth player Johnson has added since taking over in April. He ranked as the nation’s No. 21 power forward recruit coming out of Seagoville. He joins center Aaron Durley, from Fort Bend Bush High School, who signed with TCU last week.
Guards Charles Smith, from Fort Worth Trimble Tech, and Clyde Smith III, from Houston Hotchkiss School, signed earlier.

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs 

TCU announces Guerinoni and Scott hired to Trent Johnson's staff

TCU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson hired Donny Guerinoni and Brent Scott as assistant coaches, the school announced Wednesday. Guerinoni and Scott were assistants for Johnson at LSU for four years and they both played for Johnson, Guerinoni at Nevada and Scott at Rice.
“Continuity and a sense of family will be important characteristics of our program here at TCU,” Johnson said in a release. Johnson mentioned both when he was announced as TCU's coach in early April.
Guerinoni was the first recruit Johnson signed at Nevada in 1999. He served as Johnson’s director of operations at Stanford from 2004-06 before being named an assistant coach at Stanford.
Johnson joined the staff at Rice for Scott’s senior season in 1992-93. Scott played professionally for 16 teams in eight leagues in five countries for 14 years before joining Johnson’s staff at LSU.
Johnson will name a third and final assistant at a later date.

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs 

Mountain West tiebreakers? Help me count the ways...

Interested in the tie-breaking scenarios for TCU and the rest of Mountain West men's basketball? Sure you are, but you don't have time to run the numbers, right? Thankfully, the MWC has it covered.
The regular season ends Saturday and there are multiple ways the standings could finish from first place to last place. TCU hosts No. 21 San Diego State (23-6, 9-4 in the MWC) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Frogs (17-12, 7-6) are 6-0 at home in the league with previous upsets over ranked UNLV and New Mexico. The Aztecs beat the Frogs by 10 in San Diego Feb. 4. The Frogs are currently tied with Colorado State in fourth place. In any scenario, if the Frogs and Rams are tied in final standings, Colorado State would earn the higher seed, whether both finish 8-6 or 7-7. If there is a three-way tied at 7-7 with Wyoming, the Rams would earn the fourth seed, the Frogs the fifth, and the Cowboys the sixth.

Here's the release the MWC sent out to help media wade through the various tie-breaking confusion, with current standings, team-by-team league breakdowns, followed by the tiebreaker details:

MOUNTAIN WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL
TIEBREAKING SCENARIOS
(as of March 1, 2012)

	CONFERENCE			OVERALL
STANDINGS	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
New Mexico	9	4	.692	23	6	.793
San Diego St.	9	4	.692	23	6	.793
UNLV	8	5	.615	24	7	.774
Colorado St.	7	6	.538	18	10	.643
TCU	7	6	.538	17	12	.586
Wyoming	6	7	.462	20	9	.690
Air Force	3	10	.231	13	14	.481
Boise State	3	10	.231	13	15	.464

AIR FORCE
1-1 vs. Boise State
0-1 vs. Colorado State (Mar. 3)
0-2 vs. New Mexico
1-1 vs. San Diego State
0-2 vs. TCU
0-2 vs. UNLV
1-1   vs. Wyoming

BOISE STATE
1-1   vs. Air Force
1-1 vs. Colorado State
0-1 vs. New Mexico (Mar. 3)
0-2 vs. San Diego State
1-1 vs. TCU
0-2 vs. UNLV
0-2 vs. Wyoming

COLORADO STATE
1-0 vs. Air Force (Mar. 3)
1-1 vs. Boise State
1-1 vs. New Mexico
1-1 vs. San Diego State
1-1 vs. TCU
1-1 vs. UNLV
1-1 vs. Wyoming

NEW MEXICO
2-0 vs. Air Force
1-0 vs. Boise State (Mar. 3)
1-1 vs. Colorado State
1-1 vs. San Diego State
1-1 vs. TCU
1-1 vs. UNLV
2-0 vs. Wyoming

SAN DIEGO STATE
1-1 vs. Air Force
2-0 vs. Boise State
1-1 vs. Colorado State
1-1 vs. New Mexico
1-0 vs. TCU (Mar. 3)
1-1 vs. UNLV
2-0 vs. Wyoming

TCU
2-0 vs. Air Force
1-1 vs. Boise State
1-1 vs. Colorado State
1-1 vs. New Mexico
0-1 vs. San Diego State (Mar. 3)
1-1 vs. UNLV
1-1 vs. Wyoming

UNLV
2-0 vs. Air Force
2-0 vs. Boise State
1-1 vs. Colorado State
1-1 vs. New Mexico
1-1 vs. San Diego State
1-1 vs. TCU
0-1 vs. Wyoming (Mar. 3)

WYOMING
1-1 vs. Air Force
2-0 vs. Boise State
1-1 vs. Colorado State
0-2 vs. New Mexico
0-2 vs. San Diego State
1-1 vs. TCU
1-0 vs. UNLV (Mar. 3)

Two-way tie between UNM and SDSU at 10-4:

• UNM and SDSU split with each other
• Both teams split with CSU and UNLV
• SDSU is 2-0 vs. TCU, UNM is 1-1 vs. TCU
• Both teams are 2-0 vs. WYO
• SDSU gets No. 1 seed due to sweep of TCU

Three-way tie between UNM, SDSU and UNLV at 9-5:

• UNM, SDSU and UNLV split with each other
• All three teams split with CSU, TCU
• UNM and SDSU are 2-0 vs. WYO; UNLV is 1-1
• UNLV gets No. 3 seed
• UNM is 2-0 vs. AFA; SDSU is 1-1 vs. AFA
• SDSU is 2-0 vs. BSU; UNM is 1-1 vs. BSU
• If BSU is 4-10 and AFA is 3-11, tiebreaker goes to SDSU
• If AFA and BSU are tied at 4-10 (both UNM and SDSU went a combined 3-1 against AFA and BSU), tie broken based on Feb. 27 RPI ranking (28-SDSU; 34-UNM)
• SDSU is No. 1 seed due to higher RPI ranking

Two-way tie between UNM and UNLV at 9-5:

• SDSU is No. 1 seed at 10-4
• UNM and UNLV split with each other
• Both teams split with SDSU
• Both teams split with CSU, TCU
• UNM is 2-0 vs. WYO; UNLV is 1-1
• UNM gets No. 2 seed due to sweep of WYO

Two-way tie between SDSU and UNLV at 9-5:

• UNM is No. 1 seed at 10-4
• SDSU and UNLV split with each other
• Both teams split with UNM
• Both teams split with CSU, TCU
• SDSU is 2-0 vs. WYO, UNLV is 1-1 vs. WYO
• SDSU gets No. 2 seed due to sweep of WYO

Two-way tie between UNM and SDSU at 9-5:

• UNM and SDSU split with each other
• Split with UNLV, CSU, TCU
• UNM and SDSU are both 2-0 vs. WYO
• If AFA and BSU are tied at 4-10 (both UNM and SDSU went a combined 3-1 against AFA and BSU), tie broken based on Feb. 27 RPI ranking (28-SDSU; 34-UNM) – SDSU gets No. 1 seed due to higher RPI ranking
• If AFA is 3-11, SDSU still gets No. 1 seed due to 2-0 record vs. BSU because UNM is 1-1 vs. BSU

Three-way tie between UNLV, CSU and TCU at 8-6:

• UNM is No. 1 seed at 10-4 if it defeats BSU
• SDSU is No. 1 seed if it is tied with UNM at 9-5
• UNLV, CSU and TCU split with each other
• UNLV, CSU and TCU split with UNM and SDSU
• CSU and TCU are 1-1 vs. WYO; UNLV is 0-2 vs. WYO
• UNLV gets No. 5 seed
• CSU and TCU are both 3-1 vs. AFA and BSU
• Tie is broken based on Feb. 27 RPI ranking (27-CSU; 90-TCU)

Two-way tie between UNLV and CSU at 8-6:

• SDSU is No. 1 seed, UNM is No. 2 seed
• UNLV and CSU split with each other
• Both teams split with TCU
• CSU is 1-1 vs. WYO; UNLV is 0-2 vs. WYO
• CSU gets No. 3 seed due to split with WYO

Two-way tie between UNLV and TCU at 8-6:

• UNLV and TCU split with each other
• Both teams split with both SDSU and UNM
• Both teams split with CSU
• TCU is 1-1 vs. WYO; UNLV is 0-2 vs. WYO
• TCU gets No. 3 seed due to split with WYO

Two-way tie between CSU and TCU at 8-6:

• Split with each other
• Both teams split with SDSU, UNM, UNLV, WYO and BSU
• Both teams are 2-0 vs. AFA
• Tie broken based on Feb. 27 RPI ranking (27-CSU; 90-TCU)
• CSU gets No. 4 seed due to higher RPI ranking

Three-way tie between CSU, TCU and WYO at 7-7:

• CSU, TCU and WYO split with each other
• CSU split with UNM, SDSU and UNLV
• TCU split with UNM and UNLV, is 0-2 vs. SDSU
• WYO went 2-0 vs. UNLV, is 0-2 vs. UNM and SDSU
• CSU gets No. 4 seed, TCU gets No. 5 seed, WYO gets No. 6 seed

Two-way tie between CSU and TCU at 7-7:

• CSU and TCU split with each other
• CSU split with UNM, SDSU and UNLV
• TCU split with UNM and UNLV, is 0-2 vs. SDSU
• CSU gets No. 4 seed, TCU gets No. 5 seed

Two-way tie between TCU and WYO at 7-7:

• TCU and WYO split with each other
• TCU split with UNM and UNLV, went 0-2 vs. SDSU
• WYO is 2-0 vs. UNLV; is 0-2 vs. UNM and SDSU
• TCU gets No. 5 seed, WYO gets No. 6 seed

Two-way tie between CSU and WYO at 7-7:

• CSU and WYO split with each other
• CSU split with UNM, SDSU, UNLV and TCU
• WYO split with TCU and UNLV; went 0-2 vs. UNM and SDSU
• CSU gets No. 5 seed, WYO gets No. 6 seed

Two-way tie between AFA and BSU at 4-10:

• AFA and BSU split with each other
• AFA split with SDSU, CSU, WYO and went 0-2 vs. UNM, TCU, UNLV
• BSU split with UNM, CSU, TCU and went 0-2 vs. SDSU, UNLV, WYO
• If SDSU is No. 1 seed, AFA gets No. 7 seed due to split with SDSU
• If UNM is No. 1 seed, BSU gets No. 7 seed due to split with UNM

Two-way tie between AFA and BSU at 3-11:

• AFA and BSU split with each other
• AFA split with SDSU, WYO and went 0-2 vs. CSU, UNM, TCU, UNLV
• BSU split with CSU, TCU and went 0-2 vs. UNM, SDSU, UNLV, WYO
• AFA gets No. 7 seed due to split with SDSU
• BSU gets No. 8 seed

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs 

 

TCU men's hoops sophomore Jarvis Ray academically ineligible for the rest of the season

TCU sophomore Jarvis Ray is academically ineligible for the rest of the season. The guard did not make the trip to UNLV Wednesday and did not play in the Mountain West Conference opener last Saturday at Colorado State. He played in 12 of the Horned Frogs' 16 games this season, including one start Dec. 19 at USC. He last played Jan. 11 against UT Pan American, scoring two points in 14 minutes. His most productive game came Nov. 14 when he scored a career-high 12 points, had two blocks and three steals.
Ray (6-foot-6) attended O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans.
TCU (10-7, 0-2 in MWC) plays Boise State (10-7, 0-2) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs 

 

TCU men's basketball announces three signees

TCU men's basketball announced Thursday the signing of three players for next season. Fort Worth Trimble Tech guard Charles Hill (6-foot-2), forward Reggie Murphy (6-9), from Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif., and guard Clyde Smith III (6-2), who hails from Houston and is attending The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. signed letters of intent to be Horned Frogs. TCU moves from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12 in July.
"Each is an athletic player with tremendous upside, but most important is the fact that each possesses solid character that will fit well within the culture of our program," TCU coach Jim Christian said. "I think my staff was able to accomplish exactly what we wanted in signing this class."

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs

#TCU advances to play No. 8 BYU

LAS VEGAS -- TCU defeated Wyoming 70-61 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday. The Horned Frogs hadn't won since Jan. 12 when they beat the same Cowboys team by 18 in Fort Worth.
Greg Hill led TCU with 18 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the 3-point line Wednesday. Hank Thorns had 16 points and nine assists. J.R. Cadot had 13 points and 13 rebounds and his layup on a fast break gave TCU (11-21) a 10-point lead with three minutes left to play at the Thomas & Mack Center. Wyoming finished at 10-21. Thorns' layup and free throw after a foul stretched the Frogs' lead to 13 with 1:31 remaining.

TCU men's hoops predicted to finish 7th again

The TCU men's basketball team has hopes of turning around its program this season with a slew of fresh talent and a renewed vigor. But the Mountain West Conference media doesn't see it that way. The Horned Frogs, which finished 13-19 and in seventh place last season, is predicted to finish seventh again by league media. The preseason predictions and superlatives were announced today in Littleton, Colo. at the MWC Media days. BYU's Jimmer Fredette was named preseason Player of the Year. The Aztecs had two players selected to the preseason All-MWC team in forwards Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas. New Mexico guard Dairese Gary and UNLV guard Tre'Von Willis and Fredette round out the preseason team. Women's basketball coaches will meet with the media Wednesday.

Here's how the media predicted the men's MWC standings to look in March:

 Preseason Men’s Basketball Media Predictions

Team (1st-place votes), Total Points, ’09-‘10 Overall, MWC Rec.

1. San Diego State (21), 261, 25-9, 11-5
2. BYU (5), 220, 30-6, 13-3
3. New Mexico (3), 214, 30-5, 14-2
4. UNLV (1), 203, 25-9, 11-5
5. Colorado State, 132, 16-16, 7-9
6. Utah, 105, 14-17, 7-9
7. TCU, 92, 13-19, 5-11
8. Wyoming, 88, 10-21, 3-13
9. Air Force, 35, 10-21, 1-15

TCU falls short at buzzer in Tempe

Tuffy Moss' 3-pointer with two second left on the clock was a tad short and Arizona State made two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to win 52-49 at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Sun Devils advance to the National Invitational Tip-Off Tournament semifinals in New York City next week.
TCU led by eight points with 3:49 remaining in the game after Edvinas Ruzgas and Tuffy Moss nailed back to back 3-pointers. But the Sun Devils went on a 12-1 to finish the game and spoiled the Frogs' upset hopes.

Frogs lead 48-43 with 3:16 left

TCU leads Arizona State by five with 3:16 left. In a pivotal possession, the Frogs scored six points to take an 8-point lead. Edvinas Ruzgas nailed a 3-pointer from the baseline and was fouled. He missed the free throw but Kevin Butler snared the rebound and a few passes later Tuffy Moss drained a 3-point shot from the top of the arc.