Big 12 sets record with 7 NCAA bids

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/16/2010 -

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -The Big 12's coaches spent an entire season, even some time before it, telling anyone who'd listen this was the conference's strongest year ever.

Turns out, they were right.

The Big 12 earned a conference-record seven NCAA tournament bids Sunday, including the No. 1 overall seed and two more in the top three, validating what its coaches have been saying all along.

``The more the merrier,'' Oklahoma coach Travis Ford said Monday. ``I know our coaches are always pleased when they see people value the product that the Big 12 schools are putting out there. To get over half your teams into the NCAA tournament is a very, very nice compliment.''

Football has been the calling card for the Big 12 since it formed in 1996, the perception being that Kansas and Oklahoma State were the only teams playing real basketball.

The league has gradually changed its acumen over the past few years as Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri joined the Jayhawks in making deep runs in the NCAA tournament.

Still, six NCAA berths was the best the Big 12 could do - seven times, including the past two seasons - feeding an inferiority complex, as if the basketball power conferences were a big brother who wouldn't let them win at anything.

Now that Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas are in, this relatively new conference has moved up to a level usually reserved for older powerhouses like the Big East and ACC.

``As far as us getting seven in this year, my response is: It's about time,'' Kansas State coach Frank Martin said.

Kansas, no surprise, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Jayhawks start Thursday in Oklahoma City, against Lehigh.

A monumental mismatch? Probably. But after that, the road gets tougher.

The Midwest regional is considered the toughest in the tournament, one potential land mine after another awaiting the top-ranked Jayhawks.

Get by Lehigh and the second round, Kansas could face Michigan State or Maryland in the regional semifinals, then could face Georgetown or one of the two teams that gave the Jayhawks their two losses, Oklahoma State or Tennessee.

Even for a team that's as deep as any in the country, one that spent all but four weeks at No. 1, that's a tough gauntlet.

``I do believe this is a very, very difficult region,'' Kansas coach Bill Self said. ``But, from my standpoint, to get to where you want to go, you should have to beat good people. I'm sure no matter who gets to Indianapolis they're going to have a tough road.''

Kansas State set a school record for wins and has its highest seeding ever, No. 2 in the West. The seventh-ranked Wildcats open the NCAA tournament against North Texas in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Baylor, No. 3 in the South and 19th in the nation, also starts on Thursday, against Sam Houston State in New Orleans. No. 23 Texas A&M gets Utah State in Spokane, Wash., as the fifth seed in the South, and Oklahoma State faces a tough first-round matchup against Georgia Tech as the seventh seed in Milwaukee. The Aggies and Cowboys both play Friday.

The other Big 12 teams in the NCAA tournament need to make quick turnarounds.

Missouri closed out the season by losing three of its final four games, including to last-place Nebraska in the conference tournament. The Tigers open Friday in Buffalo, N.Y., against Clemson in what's likely to be the fastest game of the tournament.

Then there's Texas.

The former No. 1 team in the nation, the Longhorns followed a 17-0 start with a crash, going 9-7 during the Big 12 regular season. Texas is the eighth seed in the East regional and opens against Wake Forest on Thursday in New Orleans, hoping to get one potentially momentum-changing win.

``One game, it can swing quickly,'' Texas coach Rick Barnes said. ``We see it all the time, teams come into that have been down and out, and they catch it and kind of ride the wave with it ... This time of year, one game here or there, one play here or there can really swing it.''

After playing in the rugged Big 12, the Longhorns should be ready for it.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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