First Season Comparison: Travis Ford vs. Brad Underwood

On Tuesday’s podcast, Kyle and Carson discussed some of the similarities between the first seasons of Travis Ford and Brad Underwood. They are many, but there are also a few key differences. Let’s take a closer look.

Key Inherited Players

Ford: Eaton, Anderson, Harris, Muonelo, Moses, Page (Keiton was a freshman but was a Sutton recruit)

Underwood: Evans, Carroll, Forte, Hammonds, Solomon

Storylines

Ford: After a frustrating career, Eaton finally develops into a nice point guard; finished 3rd-team all Big 12. Anderson begins to become a star; finished 2nd-team all Big 12. Newcomer Keiton Page splashes onto the scene with a 39.9 percent shooting percentage from 3 – one of four 37%+ shooters on the team (Anderson, Page, Muonelo, Harris). Ford takes the Cowboys to first winning conference record and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

Underwood: Immediately beloved by Cowboy fans, Underwood packs the house for 4 games (WVU, Arkansas, OU, Kansas). Beats UConn, Georgetown, and Wichita State in the non-conference schedule, then goes on 6 game slide to start conference play. Wins 8 out of next 9 games (including non-conference win over Arkansas) with 4 games to go. Jawun Evans leads extremely efficient offense with key contributors Carroll and Forte. Solomon begins to develop, underclassmen Dillard, Waters, Averette show promise.

Win/Loss Records

Ford: 20-10 through the regular season (9-7 in conference play), finished 23-12

Underwood: Currently 18-9 (7-7)

Conference Finish

Ford: 4-way tie for 4th, 7 seed in the Big 12 Tournament in OKC

Underwood: Currently all alone in 5th place

Postseason

Ford: 2-1 in the Big 12 Tournament, 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament (No. 8 seed, win over No. 9 Tennessee)

Underwood: TBD, currently projected as a 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament

KenPom Stats

Ford: 26th overall, 11th in offense, 89th in defense

Underwood: 20th overall, 2nd in offense, 143rd in defense

KenPom Top 100 record

Ford: 12-12

Underwood: 11-9 so far, 4 more to go in the regular season alone

Biggest Win

Ford: won 71-70 over KenPom No. 7 Oklahoma (Blake Griffin) at the Big 12 Tournament in OKC.

Underwood: won 82-75 over KenPom No. 3 West Virginia in Morgantown

Tempo

Ford: 72.1 possessions/game (35th fastest in the country)

Underwood: 70.8 (73rd)

Statistical Outliers

Ford: Great offense (11th), few turnovers (15th), good shooting (20th in eFG%, 25th in 3P%), didn’t use bench (316th in bench minutes), poor defense (9th in conference play)

Underwood: Excellent offense (2nd), great offensive rebounding (6th), solid shooting (44th in eFG%, 7th in 3P%), uses bench (83rd in bench minutes), poor defense (last in conference play)

Result

Ford: Raise to $1.8 million in 2009 (the same salary as Mike Gundy at the time), making him the 3rd-highest paid coach in the Big 12. 10-year contract extension. Mike Holder: “We consider Travis a rising star in the coaching profession and look forward to his leadership for many years to come.”

Underwood: TBD

NCAA Tournament Wins in 1st season

Ford: 1

Underwood: TBD

NCAA Tournament Wins after 1st season

Ford: 0

Underwood: TBD