Tag: Show Me My Opponent

Show Me My Opponent: Missouri

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball

Do you like excitement? Do you like basketball? Do you like exciting basketball? If you like any or all of those three things, I’m not sure Missouri basketball should be your program of choice. Not just currently, but, like, historically. It’s hard to name a less-interesting two-time Elite Eight participant over the last 20 years. The best Missouri team in my lifetime lost to Norfolk State in the Round of 64; just one of the last six Missouri teams has even ranked in the top 100 of KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings. Not great, Bob.

However, in maintaining my focus away from the current team, it would indeed be fun to talk about said best Missouri team of my lifetime. The 2011-12 Tigers ranked #1 by nearly three full points in offensive efficiency; they played no defense at all, ranking outside of KenPom’s top 100 in defensive efficiency. They were coached by Frank Haith, who by this point is probably more famous for a wide variety of NCAA violations than anything he’s done outside of this one spectacular season. They had a seven-man rotation and no future NBA players of note, though they did provide Tennessee with current assistant Kim English. And let me tell ya: they were the most fun team to watch in America that season alongside Creighton.

It’s one thing to be an elite two-point team; it’s another entirely to be elite from three, too. Missouri did both, and they did it with great fervor. They started 14-0, beat Kansas in an instant classic, lost to Kansas in an instant classic, and then won the Big 12 Conference Tournament with ease over future Elite Eight participant Baylor. I remember Missouri being a popular Final Four pick and being baffled, entirely because they easily had the worst defense of any top-four seed in the Tournament. But who cared? They were insane and stupid and a total blast.

And then came Norfolk State.

Prior to this exact moment, the 2012 NCAA Tournament had largely sucked. The two upsets on Day One were a very boring 12-over-5 (VCU over Wichita State) and UNLV blowing it to Colorado in an 11-over-6. The best game was probably an upset that didn’t happen, UNC Asheville/Syracuse, which came ultra-close to being the first-ever 16-over-1. Day Two sucked to start, with several unmemorable games. And then, out of absolutely nowhere, came what is now the second-biggest upset in the history of the Tournament. I remember watching this at an Applebee’s, silently rooting for both teams at once, simply because I couldn’t quit the Missouri offense.

As dumb as the Frank Haith era was, I wonder if Mizzou fans would happily run it back, warts and all. Three years of Cuonzo have brought the Tigers a 15-22 SEC record and zero NCAA Tournament wins; at least Haith brought a hilariously good offense. Cuonzo’s teams can’t stop turning it over, ever, and can’t shoot a basketball anymore. This program hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since I was a junior in high school, and it feels like it would take a 51-48 barf tornado to win one now.

NEXT PAGE: “Tougher breed”

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Show Me My Opponent: Florida A&M

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball

Circa 2003-04, I was really into reading as much as I possibly could about college football and basketball history. If you can imagine this – and I’m sure it’ll shock anyone reading this – I particularly loved rating systems. I was obsessed with the BCS and with its interlocking parts – Sagarin, Billingsley, Howell, et al. For whatever reason, a certain group of schools grabbed my attention in 2004. They were all newcomers to I-A (now FBS) in football, and they were all from Florida.

Obviously, you know the first two by heart now: Florida Atlantic and Florida International. Both are commuter-ish schools near or in Miami that offer degrees of various repute and what might as well be coaching rebuilding programs. In both sports, the following coaches have taken their talents to (sorta close to) South Beach: Lane Kiffin, Butch Davis, Ron Turner (took Illinois to 2001 Sugar Bowl), Isiah Thomas, Mike Jarvis (mid/late-90s CBB guy that took St. John’s to the Elite Eight in 1999), etc. These are places you go to convince others you’re younger than you are.

The third of these was a total mystery, and still is: Florida A&M. For one season, and one only, they transitioned up from I-AA to I-A. They have a phenomenal all-time record of 567-274-23 (67%) in football, including six MEAC titles from 1990 to 2001 under head coach Billy Joe. (I implore you to read more about this here, from friend of the show Bill Connelly.) In basketball, I can remember them taking on Kentucky in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. It would be Kentucky’s last win of that season.

Since that moment in time, Florida A&M serves as a historical oddity: the football program that died on impact in 2004, a basketball program that’s almost done the same, minus a play-in game loss in 2007 to Niagara. Largely, they operate of no consequence to anyone outside of Tallahassee, unless you know about the Marching 100, and I promised myself this wouldn’t be another post about marching bands. They do bring their basketball program to Knoxville this week. Unfortunately, they do not bring the marching band, or much notable history, with them.

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NEXT PAGE: NET killers

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Show Me My Opponent: Chattanooga

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball

Chattanooga: a city in Tennessee. It is, indeed, a place you are allowed to reside. In all seriousness, it’s a solid little place: there’s minor league baseball, several quality food options, and a bunch of nice outdoor activities. Pound-for-pound, it’s one of the better mid-sized cities in the South. If I were not a nice man, I would say that they have minor league basketball and football, too, but that’s not very kind.

The Chattanooga Mocs basketball program has largely operated on the same treadmill for most of my life: never great, never bad, with one large outlier in the process. In 1997, Chattanooga was the best team in the Southern Conference and won the conference title, entering the NCAA Tournament at 22-10. They received a 14 seed, and in the minds of most, that was essentially it. That year, they’d draw 3 seed Georgia (yes, this used to be a thing) in the first round and were sizable underdogs. I’d imagine few bothered to even consider them for the upset; said Georgia team was one of the weakest 3 seeds ever, but you simply don’t pick a 14 seed to win.

All Chattanooga did was blow the doors off of Georgia for a half. At halftime, the Mocs led 46-31; they’d hold on for dear life in the second half, squeaking out a 73-70 victory. Realistically, that’s better than they could’ve expected to do. Surely, after a Round of 32 matchup with 6 seed Illinois, they’d be done. Instead, the Mocs demolished Illinois in the second half, winning 75-63. Now, out of nowhere, the Mocs were the talk of the nation – a 14 seed in the Sweet Sixteen for just the second time in NCAA Tournament history.

The dream would end soon, and they’d settle into the loop I mentioned previously. Since the end of their 1997 Sweet Sixteen loss to Providence, the Mocs have made the NCAA Tournament just three times, losing by double-digits in each matchup. They’ve finished outside of KenPom’s top 300 just once, but have never cracked his top 100 at season’s end. They’ve never lost fewer than three games in SoCon play, but – until Lamont Paris’ first year in 2017-18 – had never won fewer than five, either. They’re just…there. If nothing else, they provide a great opportunity to play college basketball and get a degree at a solid university. Life could be far worse.

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NEXT PAGE: Well, it’s definitely a basketball team

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