Booker ready for final NCAA chance

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/16/2010 -

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -Devin Booker recalls the frustration of teammate and older brother, Trevor, last weekend after their highly regarded Clemson team was upset in its opening game at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Devin, a Clemson freshman, figured it best to leave big bro alone.

``I can guess how he'd be to lose'' at the NCAA tournament, Devin said of Trevor, the Tigers' star forward and the biggest reason why Clemson earned its third straight trip to the NCAAs after a decade without any.

Now, Trevor Booker's got one final chance to leave an even bigger legacy before he goes - of NCAA success when the Tigers (21-10) take on Missouri (22-10) in the East Regional at Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday.

``It'll be real big. We haven't gotten that win yet,'' Booker said. ``Just to get one win, it'll be a big chip off my shoulder.''

Booker's shoulders have carried Clemson much of the past four years.

He came to the Tigers in 2007, a young forward who instantly worked himself into the starting lineup among a group of more experienced standouts and averaged more than 10 points a game.

That group took a big surge forward in Booker's sophomore season, reaching the ACC tournament final before falling to North Carolina, and earning its first NCAA tournament berth in 10 years. Booker upped both his scoring and rebounding and established himself as one of the league's most dangerous and reliable post players.

In 2009, Booker led the ACC in rebounding and field goal percentage - the first to pull that off since NBA star Tim Duncan at Wake Forest 12 years earlier - and took Clemson to another NCAA tournament.

Each of those seasons, however, ended in disappointment. The Tigers missed the NCAAs in 2007 after a 17-0 start, settling for a run to the NIT finals. Clemson dropped its NCAA openers the past two seasons, leaving Booker knowing he and the Tigers could've done more.

``We can't really worry too much about the past,'' point guard Demontez Stitt said. ``Right now, we have to look forward.''

That's not always so easily done.

Booker took last year's NCAA first-round loss to Michigan as hard as anyone after the Tigers unraveled so badly that Terrence Oglesby was ejected for throwing a deliberate elbow.

Faced with an end-of-season choice, Booker quickly decided he wanted to return to Clemson for his senior season and a last chance to push the Tigers to that NCAA win.

``Although he probably didn't show, it made him mad,'' Devin said. ``This NCAA tournament, it means a lot to him.''

Trevor Booker's never been the rah-rah leader who uses his voice to motivate teammates. Missouri coach Mike Anderson found that out last summer when he worked with Booker in Colorado Springs, Colo., during tryouts for the United States team that competed in the World University Games. ``He's a quiet guy, but his game speaks for itself,'' Anderson said.

And it has spoken loudest in some of Clemson's biggest games of the past few years.

Booker had 21 points and eight rebounds in a 74-47 win over Duke at Littlejohn Coliseum in 2009, the Blue Devils' largest margin of defeat in nearly two decades.

This season, he had nine of his 10 points in the final seven minutes in 62-53 win over ACC power Maryland, and went for 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Tigers rallied late to win at Florida State, 53-50 - two victories that likely went a long way to ensuring Clemson's latest NCAA bid.

``He's ready to step his game up,'' Devin said.

Trevor Booker has a lethal first step and incredible body control when he gets the ball near the basket. If he gets some help from Clemson's outside shooters, Booker can be unstoppable. But if teammates can't hit jumpers, defenders can put two or three players in the way to harass Clemson's star.

Booker understands he'll have to excel against Missouri no matter how much or how little his teammates contribute.

``Hopefully, we can get this win,'' Booker said, ``and keep going from there.''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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