Demeanor debate: Tide serious, Longhorns giddy

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/06/2010 -

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -Alabama coach Nick Saban showed up to media day for the BCS championship game wearing a cream-colored suit and a tie with diagonal stripes. Texas coach Mack Brown appeared in a burnt-orange, short-sleeved polo shirt with a big ol' Longhorn logo on it.

Saban got up and left when the horn went off indicating his 60 minutes were done. Brown lingered, spinning a few more stories, shaking a few more hands.

Crimson Tide players talked about being on a business trip. Longhorns players went around interviewing each other and goofing off while taking pictures with the BCS trophy.

Over back-to-back sessions in the same ballroom Tuesday, the difference in demeanor between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas was easy to spot.

Whether it will mean anything Thursday night is hard to say, especially considering both coaches have won national titles in recent years.

But it's clear that any breakdown of this matchup needs to include serious vs. giddy alongside things like SEC vs. Big 12 and smashmouth offense vs. spread offense.

``I think Coach Brown said it best: 'We need to come in here and have fun and do what we've been doing all year. Don't make it any bigger than it is,''' Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy said. ``That's kind of my mentality and our team's mentality.

``When we're out there focused and having fun, that's when we're playing to the best of our ability,'' McCoy continued. ``That's exactly what we need to do headed into this game, because we are focused, we are prepared.''

Maybe the Longhorns can relax because McCoy and nine other players have been here before.

While none played in the 2006 Rose Bowl that determined the national championship, they were all watching from the sideline as Vince Young wiped out a late deficit to pull off an upset of No. 1 Southern Cal.

Young persuaded Brown to loosen up throughout that '05 season. Considering how things turned out, it makes sense that he's stuck with a carpe diem approach.

So, actually, his casual approach is just another day at the office. He's handling things in California the same way he does in Austin, all in hopes that players approach the biggest game of their lives as if it's just No. 14 on their schedule.

``Coach Brown just wants to make sure that everybody knows that we don't have to do anything other than what we've been doing every week,'' wide receiver Jordan Shipley said. ``Just go out and play football.''

Then again, the same can be said for Alabama.

Saban is all-business and proud of it, treating the media session as nothing more than the 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. slot on his agenda.

``At this point, it's almost like getting on a flight,'' he said. ``It takes a long time to board and check your bags and all that kind of stuff, but now we're ready to take off. You've got to go through your checklist and make sure you get it right and do it right and get ready to go out there and play your best game of the year.''

Several times this week, Saban has talked to his team about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, the ``Miracle on Ice'' squad.

Considering the Tide is favored, his message could be to avoid the fate of the Soviet Union team that was upset. Instead, it's been about coming together like that group of unheralded Americans at Lake Placid.

``He's been talking about that movie and that team a lot this week to make sure that we're staying focused on this goal of what we need to do,'' linebacker Cory Reamer said, ``and not straying too far away from it with all the distractions that we have around us.''

But is Saban having any fun?

``I think he's enjoying his work,'' Reamer said. ``I think he's enjoying the process and the fact that we're here playing for this big of a game. He's enjoying preparing and getting the team ready for it. I'm sure he'll have a lot of fun afterward when we win.''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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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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