Ducks out to prove they deserved better seeding

The Associated Press

A Pac-12 tournament title, a second-place finish in the regular season and a ranking in the final AP poll added up to very little for Oregon when it came time for NCAA tournament seeding.

The Ducks (26-8) ended up with the 12th seed in the Midwest Region in what was one of the more questioned decisions made by the tournament selection committee.

“It definitely is motivation with the seed,” said point guard Dominic Artis, who is happy for a homecoming to his native Bay Area. “But we still have to play a good team. Everybody in the tournament is a good team. The seed doesn’t really matter.”

For Oregon, the slight wasn’t all bad as they get to stay on the West Coast this weekend in San Jose when they take on fifth-seeded Oklahoma State (24-8) in their tournament opener Thursday.

The Cowboys might have more to be upset about. The draw gave them a tougher-than-expected opening game against a team that is on a roll following three straight wins in the Pac-12 tournament.

“They don’t look like it. The record doesn’t look like it. Nothing about them looks like a 12 seed,” Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. “If you’re playing at this time of year, you’re going to have a very difficult first game. They’re all tough. … They’re playing great basketball right now. But, no, they don’t look like your kind of typical 12 seed, absolutely, positively not.”

The Cowboys aren’t complaining much as they are happy to be back in the tournament a year after suffering their first losing record in 24 years. Oklahoma State missed the tournament entirely the past three seasons and has no player who has ever played in the NCAAs.

Led by star freshman and Big 12 player of the year Marcus Smart, the Cowboys are back with their highest seed in eight years. They won 11 of their last 13 regular-season games and finished third in the Big 12 before losing to Kansas State in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Majerus leaves his mark

New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies watched video of Saint Louis all week, and a common theme kept showing up on every play he analyzed.

“You can see Rick Majerus all over them, throughout the fiber of how they play,” said Menzies, who coached against Majerus’ Utah teams while at San Diego State from 1999 to 2003. “There’s no question that they’re playing inspired by him, and especially on the defensive end.”

More than three months since his death, Majerus’ style still lives on through his players.

Saint Louis (27-6) will be looking to carry on the memory of the affable and animated coach in the way he so often made his mark in March: with a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The fourth-seeded Billikens must first find a way to get past 13th-seeded New Mexico State and 7-foot-5 freshman Sim Bhullar on Thursday.

“The way we play, we play 40 minutes, from the tip to the end with hard work and competitiveness of our team. That kind of spread from Coach Majerus,” said guard Kwamain Mitchell, the first player Majerus recruited to the school. “He’s so competitive. He hated losing. And that’s one of the things he preached and he coached. And he got everybody on the same page to coach and play the way that he does.”

Majerus left the team before the season because of health concerns. He died of heart failure in December at age 64. There’s been no drop in production from the team assembled by Majerus, who ended the school’s 12-year NCAA tournament drought last spring.

Jim Crews has taken over and led the Billikens to the Atlantic 10 regular season and conference crowns. Saint Louis also has tied the 1988-89 team with 27 victories, including a school-record five wins against Top 25 programs this season.

Players said they still think about Majerus daily, and all they need to do is look at the patch on their jerseys for a reminder – a ribbon with the word “Coach.” A banner with the same emblem hangs in the rafters at the team’s home in Chaifetz Arena.

Standing in the way of a storybook Saint Louis run is one of the most imposing frontcourts in the country.

Besides Bhullar, a freshman from Canada who is 7-foot-5 and 355 pounds, the two-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Aggies (24-10) also have forwards Renaldo Dixon (6-foot-9) and Bandja Sy (6-foot-8). Together the trio has helped New Mexico State pile up a school-record 186 blocked shots.

“I think he changes the whole game for us and other teams as well, because a lot of teams are not used to seeing that big of a size in there,” said guard Daniel Mullins.

While Majerus’ memory is motivating Saint Louis, all the Aggies need for inspiration is a history lesson.

New Mexico State also was a No. 13 seed last season, losing 79-66 in the first round to Indiana. The Aggies were eliminated by Michigan State in the first round in 2010 and haven’t won a tournament game since 1993.

Valpo knows experience

There’s no such thing as one and done at Valparaiso.

The Crusaders earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004 with one of the most seasoned teams in college basketball.

When 14th-seeded Valparaiso shoots to upset third-seeded Michigan State on Thursday, experience will be on its side even though the Spartans are in the tourney for a 16th consecutive year.

“It scares me a little bit,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

The Crusaders start five seniors, two of whom are in their fifth season, and their nine-man rotation includes only upperclassmen.

Only Colorado State has had more games started by seniors this season than Valpo among teams in the NCAA tournament, according to STATS LLC. The Crusaders’ seniors combined to start 160 games and help the school win a program-record 26 this season.

Michigan State’s lone senior, Derrick Nix, was almost sent packing more than once during his turbulent stay with the Spartans.

The 6-foot-9, 270-pound center struggled with his weight earlier in his career and his choices as recently as a couple months ago. He was suspended from the team last summer, then reinstated after pleading guilty to impaired driving. Nix hit another speed bump in January, missing some academic appointments and being forced to sit at the start of a game against Illinois in January.

“It’s been a good and bad four years,” Nix said. “I’ve experienced a lot and I’ve have matured a lot. I’m so grateful to be here. Coach sticking with me through my ups and downs, I appreciate it.”

Nix weighed as much as 340 pounds in high school – splitting time between Detroit Pershing and Murray Wright – when he often ate a large pizza and washed it down with 2 liters of soda before games.

He has reshaped his body, his game and his life.

Nix trimmed down to 266 entering his sophomore season, then almost ate himself off the team. He gained so much weight back that led Izzo left him home when the team went to the Maui Invitational.

He played in 36 games, including 16 starts as a freshman, to help the Spartans play in the NCAA final, but couldn’t assist much at the line, making just 13 of 48 free throws. Now, he’s a 72 percent shooter at the line and averages 9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists as a crafty passer out of the post. He makes steals with his deceptive quickness.

And, Nix has put himself in a position off the court to graduate in May.

“It’s probably the most fun to take a guy that you’re not sure would have made it academically, athletically, or socially and you see it turn around,” Izzo said. “You see a guy making it probably means more in the long run than the Final Fours because you really, truly did help a guy get better. That’s what we all should be doing, especially us as coaches or teachers.”

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