News » percent from the field in the first

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas coach Bill Self was chatting this week with someone who brought up the possibility that some unfortunate team with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament might have to play its second game against Oklahoma State, which was once considered a Final Four contender. "I said, Just think if that happens in your conference tournament," Self responded. After winning their 10th straight regular-season title, the Jayhawks earned the top seed when the Big 12 tournament begins Wednesday night at the Sprint Center. But the reward is a first-round bye and a potential matchup with the eighth-seeded Cowboys in Thursdays quarterfinals; the two teams split their two meetings this year. Oklahoma State plays No. 9 seed Texas Tech in the first game Wednesday night. Seventh-seeded Baylor takes on No. 10 seed TCU in the nightcap of a double-header. "I think weve always had very competitive Big 12 tournaments," Self said, "but I dont know if I can ever remember where if theres a final between whatever seeds there are, it would be absolutely not a major surprise to anybody. Its going to be a pretty special weekend." The Big 12 has been the runaway leader in conference RPI all season, and some believe that it could land seven or eight teams in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday. Just consider the games that will be played Thursday: Along with Kansas getting Oklahoma State or Texas Tech, second-seeded Oklahoma will play the Baylor-TCU winner, No. 3 seed Texas will play No. 6 seed West Virginia, and No. 4 seed Iowa State will play No. 5 seed Kansas State. "This league," Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said, "is by far the toughest in the country." Thats why the Jayhawks still believe they can earn a No. 1 seed to the NCAA tournament, despite their 23-8 record. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (20-11) is teetering around the bubble, and a win over Texas Tech might be enough to push the Cowboys firmly into the dance. Knocking off the Jayhawks would certainly do the trick. "Were just trying to worry about the next game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said, "and worrying about all that other stuff doesnt really do you any good." In that case, here are five things that fans SHOULD worry about: BUBBLE WATCH: Oklahoma State isnt the only team on the NCAA tournament bubble. Baylor (21-10) would feel much better with a win or two, while West Virginia (17-14) hopes the momentum it picked up by knocking off Kansas last weekend will propel it to enough wins in Kansas City to make a case on Selection Sunday. "I think if we won two wed be in great shape," said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins, "but I think if we can win that first one that we would be pretty good." CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE: Kansas is the only current member to have won the Big 12 tournament since 2005 -- twice since then, Missouri won the title. In fact, Oklahoma and Iowa Stare are the only current schools besides the Jayhawks and Cowboys to have won. "No matter what people say, no matter what other teams do," Oklahoma States Marcus Smart said, "it goes through Kansas." STAR WATCH: There will be stars-a-plenty at the Big 12 tournament. Andrew Wiggins of Kansas is a potential No. 1 draft pick, Iowa States Melvin Ejim is the Big 12 player of the year and Smart is also a potential lottery pick. But one player who wont be on the floor is Jayhawks centre Joel Embiid, whos been ruled out for the Big 12 tournament and unlikely for the first week of the NCAA tournament because of a stress fracture in his back. HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE: Local schools Kansas and Kansas State always pack the Sprint Center, but Iowa State also tends to draw well -- its campus is a reasonable drive from Kansas City. That means itll be tough to secure a ticket to Thursdays first session, when the Cyclones play the Wildcats and Kansas is also in action in a tantalizing double-header. LONGSHOTS: Even longshots have coaches concerned this year. Texas Tech is the No. 9 seed but has wins over Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas on its resume. And nobody thought TCU would go winless in the league, so the No. 10 seed Horned Frogs could be primed for a first-round upset of the Bears. "Were going to do our best to keep within striking distance, like we have all year long, and give ourselves a chance down the stretch," TCU coach Trent Johnson said. Lawrence Guy Jersey .com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. Curtis Martin Jersey . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/991p-...y-patriots.html James Ferentz Jersey . -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted to keep Logan Mankins with the team for a long time. JaWhaun Bentley Jersey .com) - Chris Kreider tallied a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers capped a successful California road trip with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Griffin had 33 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the Los Angeles Clippers 123-87 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Darren Collison added 20 points and seven assists for the Clippers, who improved to 3-0 on their four-game homestand. J.J. Redick had 19 points in his first game since Nov. 29. The Clippers recorded their largest-ever victory over the Lakers. The Clippers previous biggest win over the Lakers was 31 points on Feb. 19, 1992. "Tonight we played excellent for 48 minutes," Griffin said. "Having J.J. back was huge. He opens a lot of things up for us." Kendall Marshall ended with 16 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who have lost four in a row. Wesley Johnson and Robert Sacre each tallied 14 points. "We turned the ball over too much," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. Holding a 22-21 lead with 4:11 left in the first quarter, the Clippers went on a 21-2 run to gain control.ddddddddddddDeAndre Jordan scored the final six points of the surge to make it a 43-23 contest. Jodie Meeks made two free throws with 27.5 seconds remaining to cut the gap to 18. The Clippers, though, shot 70.8 percent from the field in the first stanza. The score was 70-52 at the half after each team scored 27 points in the second period. It got worse for the Lakers in the third quarter. The Lakers shot a dismal 2- of-20 from the field and were outscored by a 31-8 margin. The Clippers led by as many as 43 in the fourth frame. Game Notes Meeks and Nick Young each had 11 points for the Lakers, who shot 34.5 percent from the field ... Jordan had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 48.9 percent from the floor ... The Lakers turned the ball over 21 times. ' ' '