By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings at the mid-month:
• The whole run, or limp, through March for KU really leaves me thinking.
• How is it the Jayhawks did not recruit depth? They should be stacked and of course, we’re all led to believe they are by recruiting rankings.
• Injuries, however, have really exposed the Jayhawks’ mortality this season.
• I’m not sure I’m picking them to beat Samford in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
• So there, Bill Self. Not that you need motivation but let’s see what you’ve got as a 4-seed.
• KU beat UConn and Houston, so upside exists. I’m just not seeing it right now, at least not consistently.
• Could it be the fourth time in the last five dance cards the Jayhawks failed to reach the second weekend?
• A disclaimer: They would have been the favorite in 2020 when the pandemic prompted the NCAA tournament’s cancellation. And, KU won it all in 2022.
• All the more reason to believe in Self when KU is a trendy pick to get upset.
• Iowa State’s support, turning T-Mobile Center into Hilton South, is remarkable.
• It would be cool to hear of any memories, sites or featured attractions those from Iowa find along I-35 driving to and from Kansas City. Here’s three for me:
- • Eating the first Subway sandwich in my life at Osceola on a road trip with my dad in the late 1970s. Each of us commented on the quantity of lettuce.
- • Stopping in Osceola, exhausted from driving on ice-packed I-35 one night with no room at the inns. Flagged down a policeman. “The Methodist church is taking in folks,” he said. I became the first to get there and some 60 others eventually slept in pews.
- • Staying in Clive before covering a game the next day at ISU. Found that Sammy Kershaw was playing at a Clive dive that night and had a blast.
• I know, not much to reflect on in terms of scenery, but experiences live forever.
• Notice I didn’t infer, like every TV announcer, that all ISU fans are from Ames. Granted, folks vacate their college town for the annual trek into KC.
• But do you think some ISU fans might live in Des Moines, Ottumwa, Fort Dodge or another Iowa town where booing is a first language?
• Makes me wonder if that Farmageddon matchup between K-State and ISU might attract more fans to Arrowhead these days.
• Parity is a hallmark of Big 12 hoops? Really? I sure didn’t see it with all the blowouts in KC.
• So, what did the Big 12 nets and trophy get Iowa State? The lowest seed on the No. 2 seed line, precisely where everyone had the Cyclones pegged anyway.
• Lesson: never get too stoked about a conference tournament boosting your team’s NCAA seeding.
• Instead, somehow, get excited about November basketball because the selection committee puts more stock in nonconference strength of schedule.
• Conversely, coaches rightfully put more stock in their teams peaking down the stretch.
• The stakes continue to soar for one-bid conferences. A lot of upstarts advanced from those as only 11 of 32 regular-season champs doubled as conference tourney winners.
• Declining a bid from the NIT is not something I can rail about.
• How often do any of us casually watch the NIT … unless, of course, we’re twitching to use our betting apps?
• Should I mention the word, addiction?
• However, if you field a basketball team, isn’t your intent to play? None of the seven programs that declined NIT bids are elite. (Sorry, Indiana.)
• The SEC should knock the high-and-mighty right out of NIT snubber Oklahoma.
• My biggest disappointment among those left out of the NCAAs was Indiana State and folk hero Robbie Avila.
• K-State accepted its NIT bid. A road game against Iowa will likely end the Wildcats’ season.
• Jerome Tang suffered from a couple of internal setbacks he could not control.
• Sloppy execution, however, falls on him to fix.
• Three peeves that have recently surfaced regarding professional golf:
- Incorrect scorecards. Why should anyone still be signing a scorecard in major professional golf? Scorers follow each group, and we follow live scoring on the web.
- Lengthy rulings. The conversation at The Players regarding a drop by Rory McIlroy grew more tedious than one of the dozen replay reviews in the final minute of a college basketball game.
- On the clock. If a rules official cannot expedite a ruling such as McIlroy’s, the Tour’s clock needs rewinding anyway. Also, how frequently does the PGA impose a penalty for slow play? Uh, never.
• Watched the Class 5A semifinal games played by the Seaman girls and Highland Park boys. Gotta make it a point to get to White Auditorium more often for basketball.
• Yes, I left something in the plate at that Iowa church. A sports writer’s pittance, unfortunately.
