College Basketball Rivalries

Table of Contents

• State Pride and Identity in Basketball
• Key Matchups and Tactical Insights
• Missouri and Missouri State Rivalries
• National Basketball Powerhouses and Traditions
• General Observations on Teams and Conferences
• Other

State Pride and Identity in Basketball

Indiana gets credit for having the most rabid basketball fans in the union, but Maine is a very, very active basketball state.

There's no other state, none, that's as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It's Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that's what makes us unique.

Indiana is a state dedicated to basketball. Basketball, soybeans, hogs and basketball. Berkeley, needless to say, is not nearly as athletic. Berkeley is dedicated to coffee, angst, potholes and coffee.

Arkansas, as a state, is not that far away. So you can get more fans in there and get you the same atmosphere that say Kentucky has when they play in Atlanta.

There’s no other state, none, that’s as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It’s Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that’s what makes us unique.

Arkansas is very intriguing to me because it is the only show in the state. Obviously, without a professional team and to have the only Division I football team playing at the level that it's at, it kind of draws unified support throughout the whole state. When you've got that, it's something special.

There's something about the Razorbacks that's unique to Arkansas - I don't know how many states have just one team that the entire state coalesces around. We don't have a pro team, so everybody's into the Razorbacks. Everybody's watching the Razorbacks on Saturday.

Key Matchups and Tactical Insights

We just happened to make the last play. If the game lasts another minute, (Missouri State) wins. That's just how this game was.

Arkansas is a very good team and very aggressive. We knew we had to be aggressive right back. We had to take advantage of every opportunity to strike at them.

Arkansas is a top-notch program with real good people heading it up. We've broken bread with those guys and I can't say enough good things about them. I think Arkansas has a great chance of getting this done. I've watched four or five of their games this year and I think it would be a great match.

One of the things we like so much about the team right now is that since the Missouri game last year, this team has finished better. We've played in the fourth quarters better than any team I have been associated with in my coaching career.

We've got a lot of film on them. In the first game, they just outmanned the opponent (Missouri State). We definitely started to look at a variety of things they do.

We got a lot of good looks, we didn't make them and Missouri State did a good job of running its stuff. They did a good job of attacking and getting to the free-throw line, along with our inability to make shots.

Arkansas was a really good team when they came in here and played us in Tuscaloosa earlier this year and they've only gotten better. But I believe we are a different team now, too. We've grown and we've gotten a little bit better.

(Missouri State is) too good of a basketball team to have the turnovers we had. Missouri State is big, they're good, and we just need to take care of our opportunities. We let too many of them slip away.

We're too good a basketball team to have turnovers like that. Missouri State is big and they are good. We needed to take better care of the ball against an opponent like that. To turn it over that many times is not going to get it done.

We're going into one of the more hostile environments we've seen all year. I'm impressed with Missouri State's team, with how physical they play.

Arkansas is one of the most talented teams in the country and playing really good basketball right now. It's hard to imagine (Arkansas and Alabama) having to fight their ways in as well as they're playing.

Missouri and Missouri State Rivalries

Last time we went to Missouri it was not a good experience. We want to rectify what happened at Missouri two years ago. The fans are loud and it's going to be a hard place to play in. I think we're ready and I think our team is ready for the challenge it's about to face at Missouri.

There is a lot at stake in this game. We know that Missouri State will come in here and play their best game of the year. We beat them on their home floor the first time in a really close game so we know they'll want to get us back.

It's a positive thing that we can get a great team like Missouri down by so much that we can come out hard, and we can come out on first and play real hard. It's just the learning curve, and the learning aspect of the game where we need to learn how to keep it and learn how to fight each possession to keep it.

We have to give (Missouri State) a lot of credit, but once we got going, I think that we were fine.

We're just excited to be in, definitely with the fourth seed, which we figured we might be. We have so much respect for Missouri State. We have a lot of respect for their program and we're excited for the opportunity, as I'm sure they are.

I'll do what it takes to win. We knew Missouri State had strong guards and that my team might need some help.

Nobody has confidence in us but our team. They knock the Missouri Valley but not too many teams want to play us.

We've been going through things a Missouri team hasn't been through in a while. We upset the defending national champion, being ranked and having to defend that ranking. This two weeks has been tough on us. It really showed up in the last 10 minutes.

We knew if we could take care of business against Missouri State and Bradley, we'd be back in the race. Now we're a position where we can control our own destiny, if we play well on the road.

We knew if we could take care of business against Missouri State and Bradley -- and by taking care of business, I mean winning all of them -- we'd be in it. Anything short of that, we couldn't do it. We'd be at least two games out with a lot of teams in front of us.

To set the record and not be at home, I couldn't think of a better place to break it at. Missouri State is tough at home and they average over 6,000 fans per game, so it will a tough challenge for our kids.

We know how good the basketball is in our conference. It's just that not a lot of people watch us play. Missouri Valley games aren't on TV that much.

This is great for the Missouri Valley Conference. To have two teams in the Sweet 16, you can't say we're overrated or had too many bids. Just look at our success in the NIT and NCAA Tournament.

National Basketball Powerhouses and Traditions

I look at North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona. The trick is you have to get in on a consistent basis. That's the whole trick because if you don't get in, you can't do anything.

It was a great, great college basketball game. Both teams had a chance to win. I think Arkansas is as talented as any team in the league. They have more experience, much more size and physicality than we do.

You think Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and obviously UCLA -- those are four of the greatest traditions of basketball around the country. Just to get the opportunity to go on the court and play there is going to be fun.

Arizona, they're usually a powerhouse, and it shows we can pretty much play with a lot of people.

Nobody really remembers the Missouri game. Everyone thinks about Miami (Ohio).

Illinois, Duke, that's a big difference. When you start getting down into the lower levels of Division I, there are a heck of a lot of (NCAA) Division II teams and NAIA teams that are absolutely as good. Not just this year. For a long time.

They probably have the second-best (inside players) in the conference. Obviously Texas has the best, but Nebraska's three guys average 20 rebounds a game. They're killing people in terms of rebounding.

So for me, being here, it's OU-Texas. It's two good teams that have won national championships. They have a great and strong tradition. And they have traditionally been nationally ranked.

So for me, being here, it's OU-Texas, ... It's two good teams that have won national championships. They have a great and strong tradition. And they have traditionally been nationally ranked.

If I ever call that play again, hit me over the head with a 2-by-4. We couldn't make that all year. When we missed that third-and-1, it was all Missouri.

General Observations on Teams and Conferences

I like Texas, LSU, Georgia and Miami. I would say I like Texas the most. I plan to go to some camps this summer and check out some schools.

I think Kentucky's where it is because of its backcourt. Alabama's where it is because of its point guard. I think I'm where I am because I don't have a point guard who's proven that he can make consistent decisions throughout the season.

I think you've got to look at Nevada, Utah State and Louisiana Tech immediately.

If we had beat Missouri, UAB and South Carolina, and then lost our conference games, that wouldn't be good,

Hawaii, they've proven how good they can be. Louisiana Tech is much improved from last year. Utah State is better than the second place (regular season) finisher (UTEP) last year.

To be honest, we don't know a whole lot yet about Arkansas, other than that they played very good basketball down the stretch.

It's also in our favor that Arkansas and Vanderbilt have tougher schedules.

Southeast Missouri is a tough team. To come here and take 2-of-3 (games) anytime is big, especially in a kind of a must-win game situation."

This week is our biggest week in our history here at Missouri Southern. It just goes to show you how tough this conference is. It doesn't matter who you play or where you play, they're all quality teams.

I'm hearing all this about the Missouri Valley getting three, four five teams in and the Colonial is going to get two or three.

Vanderbilt's got two Top-25 RPI wins, over Old Dominion and Western Kentucky. That's more than a lot of teams. But Arkansas is a bad loss. All the teams that have beaten Vanderbilt are pretty good except Arkansas.

Defensively, we've just got to stop them, eventually we have to stop them. We didn't even have a takeaway. I don't think we had any. Whenever Mizzou gets two or three or less takeaways, we hardly ever win.

There are certain states that just by quality and quantity you go, the Texas, the Georgia, the Florida, the Jersey, those are off the top of my head that we're going to saturate a little bit, but then we go cherry pick the best players at certain positions, and Ohio State is a national brand... and a national recruiting base.

Other

I think Kentucky's where it is because of its backcourt, ... Alabama's where it is because of its point guard. I think I'm where I am because I don't have a point guard who's proven that he can make consistent decisions throughout the season.

It's been an evolution since our first game in Missouri. We were definitely an expansion team in that sense. We played with the chemistry in the room all season, trying to get the right parts. We just wanted to get in the playoffs to give us a chance.

I'd say Arkansas is every bit as good as Illinois, the best team we've played. Illinois is a little more savvy, but Arkansas is as athletic, or more athletic than Illinois.

Yeah, that's still accurate. Illinois, Duke, Arizona, Missouri and Indiana -- those are my top five right now.

It's Notre Dame, Tennessee and Alabama a little bit. And I still like Arkansas.

It says a lot about the level of basketball being played in the area. Mansfield Senior is in the top 10 in the state in wins. There is some very good basketball played in this part of the state.

Army-Navy, by far, ... Many rivalries Ohio State-Michigan, USC-UCLA, Auburn-Alabama are regional rivalries within conferences that encompass a state, or maybe two states, whereas Army-Navy encompasses all 50 states.

The main thing I want to emphasize the most about Arkansas is their speed. They are fast. They've got to be the fastest team from top to bottom that we'll face. I don't think they have anybody who can't run. It's a little intimidating to watch them on film and see them run the way they do.

Losing to Missouri and K-State ... a lot of people thought that ruined our season. But we hung on to the positives. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs, but I'd have to think we're on an upswing right now.

The games don't get any easier from here. We've got Missouri-St. Louis up next, and they're playing extremely well right now.

When you have 40 days off, as both us and Missouri have had, some teams can be better or worse, so hopefully we'll be better.

When you talk about basketball in northwest Ohio, in Putnam County . . . I imagine it?s a lot like Indiana high-school basketball. I don?t know if you could find many counties in Ohio that have had six teams make it to the state finals in any sport.

Arizona was the best place. I like the competition in baseball, and the football program has been great for the past five years. I think I'll be playing as a freshman in both sports, and I think I can play with them.

I've been in rivalries. Utah-BYU. Bowling Green-Toledo. Florida, we had three: Florida State, Tennessee and Georgia. You make them personal, but they're not. I didn't grow up disliking Georgia.

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