Alabama earns raves for recruiting class
NCAA Football Betting Lines
02/01/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama has the top recruiting class in the country,
according to Rivals.com, after getting written commitments from 18 football
players on National Signing Day.
The players who signed national letters of intent Wednesday joined eight mid-
year enrollees to make up the 2012 signing class for the reigning BCS national
champions.
The Crimson Tide have a strong overall group with 14 four-star student-
athletes and three five-star players, including Rivals.com's second-rated
running back, T.J. Yeldon.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, while happy with the results, cautioned the
perils of bringing in such highly-regarded talent.
"I say this every year, but recruiting is not an exact science," Saban said.
"No one knows for sure how these players are going to develop in the future.
That's certainly something we work hard on here, as coaches and teachers, is
to help these players develop."
Texas, coming off another disappointing season that saw the Longhorns go 8-5
and 4-5 in the Big 12, had Rivals.com's second-rated class with 28 signees,
including two five-star commits.
Florida, Ohio State and Stanford rounded out the top five, with the Cardinal
building off back-to-back BCS bowl appearances by welcoming three five-star
recruits in defensive end Aziz Shittu and offensive linemen Kyle Murphy and
Andrus Peat.
"We are excited to welcome one of the best recruiting classes in school
history," said Stanford head coach David Shaw. "We say that not because of how
high this class is rated, but instead because of the combination of ability,
intelligence, toughness and character in this class."
Rivals.com's No. 1 ranked player, 6-foot-6 wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham,
is staying close to home after the Springfield, Missouri, native chose to
attend Missouri.
Florida State, Michigan, USC, Miami-Florida and Oklahoma ranked No. 6 through
10 according to the noted recruiting website.
<< Carlin named Coastal Carolina's defensive coordinator
Conway, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Coastal Carolina head football coach Joe
Moglia announced Wednesday that Clayton Carlin has been named the
Chanticleers' defensive coordinator.
Carlin has spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator
<< Ticats release RB Cobourne, two others
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats cut running back
Avon Cobourne loose on Wednesday, along with two other players.
Cobourne helped the Montreal Alouettes to a pair of Grey Cup titles in
2009-10, and earn
<< Gronkowski misses another practice
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob
Gronkowski missed another practice Wednesday because of the left ankle injury
he suffered in the AFC Championship Game.
Gronkowski has yet to practice in prepar
<< Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan
while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San
Siro on Wednesday.
Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minu
<< Charlie Spoonhour passes away
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Missouri State, Saint Louis and
UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour has died after his battle with lung disease.
He was 72.
Spoonhour began his coaching career at Missouri State in 1983 -- then kn
No. 1 seed Monaco moves on in Chile >>
Vina del Mar, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina
eased into the quarterfinals of the $398,250 VTR Open with a straight-set win
Wednesday over Igor Andreev.
Monaco needed just 75 minutes to beat the Russian 6
Burke helps Michigan hold off Indiana >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trey Burke scored 18 points as No. 23
Michigan held off a late push by No. 20 Indiana to take a 68-56 victory on
Wednesday.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Zack Novak added 13 points apiece for the Wolv
Report: Syracuse C Melo set to return >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse center Fab Melo has been reinstated
and will return to the court Saturday after missing three games, according to
a report.
Melo will play on the road against St. John's, The Post-Standard report
Bethune-Cookman to open in MEAC/SWAC Challenge again >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bethune-Cookman will kick off its 2012
football season in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and make a trip to the University
of Miami for a second straight season.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program annou
Snaer leads Florida State past Georgia Tech >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Snaer connected on 5-of-7 shots
from beyond the arc, part of a 21-point performance, as No. 21 Florida State
downed Georgia Tech, 68-54, at Tucker Center.
Bernard James totaled 13 points an
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.
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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