File this in the unsubstantiated rumor bin at the moment, but word is coming out of St. Louis via Kevin Slaten’s radio show that Quin Snyder will be resigning at the end of this year to take a position with the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets are owned by E. Stanley Kroenke and if that name looks familiar to you, it should, as he, like the formerly discussed Laurie family, is an apple off the Wal-Mart tree and has Mizzou ties.

Could this be a way to circumvent the expensive buyout associated with Quin’s firing? It looks like that could be the case, but let’s reserve judgment until this rumor can be substatiated.

In any case, should it be true, it will be interesting to see how Mizzou responds. Our game with them in Mizzou Arena could be Quin’s last college game before being picked up a few years from now by the likes of Southern Mississippi. Will his players win one for the Quinner or will they play the usual unmotivated ball to which we’ve become accustomed. In any case, this will likely hit KC later today or tomorrow if there’s anything to it. And if there’s not, well, you can just empty your unsubstantiated rumor bin.

More as I get it.

UPDATE: Now, from the opposite side of Missouri, another radio host weighs in. 810 WHB’s Kevin Keitzman logged onto one of Missouri’s fan boards and had the following to say:

My status with Quin is call anytime 24/7 if it’s urgent. I called him and he was very glad I did. He referred to this “rumor” as “comical” and said he thought it was hilarious that they just keep coming up with this stuff. He said the same thing Mike Alden said about Kevin Slaten. They didn’t say horrible things about him, but they asked me questions that they knew the answers. “Hasn’t he had a bunch of jobs?” “Doesn’t he have an ax to grind?” Stuff like that. But not in a serious tone. We spoke with a board of curators member too… and they all three thought this was hysterical. I’ve not seen a reaction like this in a long, long time. In my opinion, there is no way they would have all three called us back and talked with us like they did if there was one shred of truth to this thing. And I’m the guy that has repeatedly said that MU will not fire Quin, but who knows, maybe he’s sick of it and he’ll leave. But he HAS NOT decided that yet. If he were even considering another job, he would have been very serious in tone with me and actually would have hinted at it to maybe help create some opportunities. [snip]I don’t know whether Quin is quitting, getting fired or staying. My educated guess is he stays. And I put that at 90%. But I can’t report anything one way or another. Every ounce of instinct I have after talking with Quin, Alden, a curator and Slaten is that this story is bogus. 99.9% that this story is a rumor. And Quin was in a good mood tonight and said, “I’m recruiting a couple really good kids and this is the last thing we need.”

He wished me well and we agreed to talk soon. I’ll try to get him on tomorrow or this week. Hope this helps you guys, I know I’m always looking for info when something’s going on and my show is over. So this is the best I can do. Thanks for reading and listening.

Did Slaten get set up? If so, who did it? Karl Rove? Deep Throat?

Yet another fascinating thread in the ash black and fool’s gold tapestry that is Mizzou.

Here’s a link to CNNSI.

1. Illinois
2. UNC
3. Kentucky
4. Wake Forest
5. Boston College
6. Duke
7. Kansas
8. Oklahoma State
9.Louisville
10. Washington
11. Arizona
12. Gonzaga
13. Syracuse
14. Michigan State
15. UConn
16. Utah
17. Pacific
18. Charlotte
19. Villanova
20. Oklahoma
21.Alabama
22. Cincinatti
23. Wisconsin
24. Pittsburgh
25. Nevada

We should see a couple new bracket predictions today, one from Jerry Palm and one from Joe Lunardi. I’m guessing that Palm will keep KU as a 1 seed based on our number one RPI, but I think Lunardi will have us as a two behind (at least) BC, UK, UNC and Illinois. I’ll try to update later. Email me if you see some other projections I miss today. By the way, you can find odds on BC, UK, UNC, or almost any team when you click here

UPDATE: CBS Sportsline’s new projection is up, and KU is a one seed. I believe this came out yesterday evening.

UPDATE2: CNNSI also has us as a number one.

UPDATE: New Bracketology is out. We are a 2 with BC as the one, Washington as the 3 and Alabama as the 4. I’ll take that.

After a game like yesterday’s, the Jayhawk fan longs for reading material. Below is a veritable buffet of Jayhawk lore. To best digest, follow in order.

As a bit of an appetizer try reading the always fantastic Joe Posnanski’s pre-game article on the magic of the Phog. Keep in mind that this was published before the game even started:

You know something will happen in Allen Fieldhouse today. Maybe an Oklahoma State player will set up to take the final shot, the one to beat Kansas, the one to give the Cowboys a straight line to the Big 12 title…maybe he will get the shot off, and the shot will look true, only suddenly, at the last possible second, the basketball will shift just a touch, as if tipped in midair, and then rattle around the basket and fall out.

Don’t bet against Joe - he’s a seer.

No buffet would be complete without a Jason Whitlock appearance, and my bet is he gets in early. He thinks yesterday shows just how important Wayne Simien is to this team. I’m inclined to agree in that we have to establish Wayne in the game. I also thought the game showed how important Moody is to the team. We would certainly not have won without Moody.

Ready for a game recap? There’s literally dozens to choose from. There’s a King, a Bedore, a Haskin and a Plumlee. There’s about 465 others here as well.

And even if you’re no longer hungry for another recap, read Dennis Dodd’s equine piece on the game. It’s nice to see a little national love for the Hawks and the Pokes.

OSU is a very good team and (I know I’ve said this before) we will not take many shots like that from any opponent. We had to shoot over 60% to win the game, and that in and of itself, is pretty remarkable. If OSU slips to a 4 seed somehow (as Eddie Sutton suggested they might, I pity the 1 seed that gets matched against them. They are very good on the perimeter and as long as they don’t get torn up down low, they should go far in the tournament.

For selfish reasons I hope they don’t play in Oklahoma City, and that we do, because I would very much like to go to the first round games there, and tickets will be much more available if OSU is not there with us.

MORE READING: A little more national love, this time from CNNSI’s Luke Winn. It’s another Wayne devotion piece. After yesterday’s performance, I’m happy to see them, as it makes my prediction that Wayne might win National Player of the Year based on yesterday’s performance all that more likely (still pretty unlikely).

Click more if you’d like to read all the game quotes (more…)

This is what I wrote last week in previewing the KU/OSU game

“This is what the season comes down to, regardless of how we got here. Both teams are excited now, will be excited at tip-off, and will come ready to play 40 solid minutes of first class basketball. If either team doesn’t, that team will not deserve to be called ‘champion.’”

Suffice it to say that both teams came to play 40 solid minutes of first class basketball. Both teams played like champions.

However, barring a complete collapse, the Jayhawks ARE champions of the Big 12 for the fifth time in the league’s nine year history. They maintained their 1/2 game lead in the REAL Standings with their projected victory over Okie St. The Cowboys are reduced to pulling for (a) k-state to take KU out on the Jayhawks’ Senior/50th Anniversary of AFH Night, or (b) Mizzou to accomplish in its first season in Paige Arena what they could not do with better players in their final year in Hearnes.

A word to the wise: Don’t bet the house on either occurrence.

The big loser of the weekend was Iowa State–losing at home to Nebraska to nearly drop off the selection committee’s radar screen. Their victories in Austin and Lawrence suddenly seem long ago and far away.

Tech also ran into some trouble in an at-risk game at A&M, getting blown out by the Aggies. Had they won, the Red Raiders would still be in the running for the Big 12 Championship were KU to falter in the next week.

The six deep REAL Big 12 Standings as of February 24, 2005:

1. 12.5-3.5

KU: Projected losses: None

At risk game: at Mizzou
Key past games: (L at Tech, L vs. ISU, L at OU, W at ISU, W at NU, W at k-state)

2. 12-4

OSU: Projected losses: None
At risk games: None
Key past games (L at UT, L at OU, L at NU, L at KU, W at Tech, W at A&M)

3. 11-5

Texas Tech: Projected Losses: None

At risk games: None

Key past games: (L vs. OSU, L at UT, L at ISU, L at OSU, L at A&M, W at k-state, W at MU, W at OU)

4. 10-6

OU: Projected losses: at UT, Tech
At risk games: None
Key past games (L at ISU, L vs. Tech, L at OSU, L at MU, W at A&M )

5. 9-7

UT: Projected losses: at OSU

At risk games: None

Key past games (L at A&M, L at OU, L at KU, L vs. ISU, L at CU, L at Tech, W at NU)

6. 8.5-7.5

ISU: Projected losses: None

At risk games: at CU

Key past games: (L at MU, L at k-state, L vs. KU, L vs. CU, L at OSU, L at A&M, L vs. NU, W at UT, W at KU, W at NU)

This week’s early games, rated on a 5 star scale (all times CST):

Monday:

***** OU at UT (8:00p.m.): OU is still in the running, theoretically, for the conference championship if it wins out and KU drops a game in the coming week. A must win game for UT’s NCAA hopes, because their final conference game is in Stillwater. 8-8 is not likely to cut it. And hey-it’s OU vs. Texas. Can you say “donnybrook”? I thought you could.

Wednesday:

*1/2 Texas Tech at Baylor (7:00p.m.): Tech is reeling. They should win easily, but Baylor, at home, might make it a little tougher than you expect.

***1/2 k-state at KU (7:00p.m.): Probably not much a game to watch except for KU fans. It is an important game, however, for not only KU, but also OSU and, depending on Monday night’s outcome in Austin, OU.

***1/2 Mizzou at Iowa State (7:00p.m.): Huge game for ISU. Huge game for Mizzou, also, if they want to have any momentum going into their season finale vs. KU-not to mention keeping alive their NIT dreams.

***1/2 A&M at Okie St (7:00p.m.): A&M could jump into the NCAA picture with a win in Stillwater. A must win for Okie St to stay alive for the conference championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney. Plus, as KU fans well know, three game losing streaks are bad and make players and coaches unhappy, and fans surly.

*1/2 Colorado at Nebraska (7:05p.m.): NU is suddenly playing good basketball-or are they merely the ISU of the week? This game could have all the atmosphere of a tournament game. The National Invitational Tournament.

Until Thursday.

–Mark

Well, I was very pleased with our effort. It is a big shame that OSU had to lose that game because they played great.

Our defense was solid - even though OSU shot well, they did it almost entirely on jump shots. I couldn’t believe how many jumpers they hit.

What a game for the man, Wayne Simien. Not only did he score 32 points and grab a dozen rebounds, but he also took the time to etch his name on the Big 12 Player of the Year award. I also think that given the audience and the attention paid to this game, that he may have garnered himself a few National POY votes. A big time performance for a big time game.

As long as we can hold serve against KSU, we win the conference, regardless of Mizzou.

Let’s get JR back on track and we’ll be looking good for March. Congrats KU on a great win. Congrats OSU on great effort.

Can’t get enough of that Wayne Simien. Here’s another angle:

This is an in-game post, so forgive me if things take a turn for the worse, but Wayne has 20 points right now and is basically unstoppable. In front of such an audience, he may be forcing some ballots as national player of the year.

This is it! The game that many believed would decide the Big XII
conference championship could very well do just that, but it has
turned into something more. For both contestants, it means either
ending or continuing a losing streak. A #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament
may also be hanging in the balance. It’s also the second-last game
that the Kansas seniors will be playing in Allen Field House. And it’s
expected to be a close one. Which team will handle the pressure better?

The latest Sagarin Pure Points ratings have Oklahoma State at #3 and
Kansas at #9, but there’s less than 3 points separating those rankings,
meaning that the 4.1-point home court advantage is enough to favor
Kansas by a scant 1.2 points, with a 54 percent probability of winning.
The Jayhawks are underrated by 1.8 points, while the Cowboys are
underrated by 0.9 points, which boosts the margin in favor of Kansas to
2 points. Both teams have comparable inconsistency factors, though if
you ignore the Washington State game, the Cowboys would be somewhat more
consistent a team, and both teams are showing negative trends, though the
one for Kansas is slightly more statistically significant. Sagarin’s
Elo Chess rankings have Kansas at #8 and Oklahoma State at #10. If you
use those ratings instead, Kansas would be favored by 5 points.

Massey has Kansas ranked ahead of Oklahoma State, though how his numbers
translate into a point spread is unknown. Nevertheless, the home
advantage guarantees that Massey would favor Kansas in the contest.

Pomeroy has Oklahoma State at #6 and Kansas at #7, but the home court
advantage gives Kansas a 2.2 point edge. The ratings corrected for
that advantage are 66.79 for Kansas and 64.56 for Oklahoma State.

Dolphin is predicting a final score of 71 to 69 in favor of Kansas, with
the Jayhawks having a 58 percent chance of winning the game.

Kansas is still #1 in the RPI and also has the #1 strength of schedule.
Sagarin also has Kansas with the #1 strength of schedule, and Sunday’s
game with Oklahoma State will ensure that the #1 strength of schedule
ranking continues for a few more days.

Both teams have identical conference and overall records, though one of
Oklahoma State’s victories came over an NAIA school (who actually scored
more on the Cowboys than Washington State did). Kansas has been winning
by an average of 11.7 points, while Oklahoma State has been winning by an
average of 16.6 points, though if you ignore the drubbings of Washington
State and Northwest Oklahoma State, it’s more like 13 points. Kansas has
been holding its opponents to an average score of 63.8 points, while
Oklahoma State has been holding its opponents to an average score of 62.5
points, though it’s more like 65 points if you ignore those same two
games.

There are ten common opponents, consisting of the other ten members of
the Big XII conference.

KU - 1 TT on road (+ 3 neutral court)
OSU +10 TT on road (+14 neutral court)
OSU +29 TT at home (+25 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU -16.5 neutral court (-12.5 at home)

KU +12 MU at home (+ 8 neutral court)
OSU +10 MU at home (+ 6 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU + 2 neutral court (+ 6 at home)

KU + 5 ISU on road (+ 9 neutral court)
KU - 2 ISU at home (- 6 neutral court)
OSU +10 ISU at home (+ 6 neutral court)
KU vs. OU -4.5 neutral court (-0.5 at home)

KU +25 UT at home (+21 neutral court)
OSU -14 UT on road (-10 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU +31 neutral court (+35 at home)

KU +20 BU on road (+24 neutral court)
OSU +29 BU at home (+25 neutral court)
OSU +18 BU on road (+22 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU +0.5 neutral court (+4.5 at home)

KU - 8 OU on road (- 4 neutral court)
OSU -10 OU on road (- 6 neutral court)
OSU +12 OU at home (+ 8 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU - 5 neutral court (- 1 at home)

KU +15 CU on road (+19 neutral court)
KU +29 CU at home (+25 neutral court)
OSU +18 CU on road (+22 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU 0 neutral court (+ 4 at home)

KU + 9 KSU on road (+13 neutral court)
OSU +20 KSU at home (+16 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU - 3 neutral court (+ 1 at home)

KU + 5 aTm at home (+ 1 neutral court)
OSU + 7 aTm on road (+11 neutral court)
KU vs. OSU -10 neutral court (- 6 at home)

KU + 2 NU at home (- 2 neutral court)
KU +13 NU on road (+17 neutral court)
OSU - 7 NU on road (- 3 neutral court)
KU vs. OU +10.5 neutral court (+14.5 at home)

These average to 4.5 points in favor of Kansas, but with a 12.9 point
standard deviation. That is, Kansas would still have the edge, even
without the home court advantage. Now, some of you are probably
looking at that 35 point advantage based on the Texas common opponent
and thinking that Kansas benefited from Tucker being ineligible and
Aldridge being injured, whereas Oklahoma State did not. Well, if you
remove the Texas comparison from the computation, Kansas still has a
1.1 point advantage, and the standard deviation drops to 7.6 points.
(more…)

I’m hearing that he’ll practice today and should be good to go on Sunday. Take it for what it’s worth.

We all love the Billy Thomas story. Now you can know how much he is making this season - a tender two hundred twenty-two thou. Good for Billy. Next year, hopefully he can sign a full year contract and make a little more. His 6 points a game should be enough to hold onto a rotation, if not with the Nets than with someone.

His headline:
Stopping Simeon is crucial if Cowboys want to beat Jayhawks

I suppose I have little room to criticize a brother after I misspelled Quin Snyder’s name (I spelled it with two n’s), but in this case I will. Yes it is a cheap shot. Yes it is a very cheap shot.

Read on:

Simeon is averaging 18.6 points per game and leads the conference with 10.8 rebounds per game. He is considered a virtual lock to be an All-American by many experts, and is a national player-of-the-year candidate.

“I think he is one of the best low-post players in the Big 12 and one of the best low post players in the nation,” said head coach designate Sean Sutton. “He’s a hard matchup.”

He and Kirk Heinrich should get together.

This year’s tournament starts March 17th. Ok, so it actually starts March 15th in Dayton, but that’s just for the honor of getting to play the number 1 overall seed. Here’s a link to the venue by venue schedule of the 2005 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

UPDATE: A rabid anti-Jayhawk (and unquestionable heretic) reader writes in the following:

FYI, assuming the likely case that Illinois is the #1 overall seed this year, and that they’ll be playing in Indianapolis on Thursday, the Play-In Winner will be able to avoid them because the PIW plays on Friday.

I hadn’t heard this.