College Basketball 2010-2011 - Page 2

Mr. Irrelevant

12-02-2010, 12:17 AM

I think the Big 10 is showing early on that it is far and away the best basketball conference this year. That being said, I'm going to the Michigan vs Oakland game on Dec. 18th. Pretty stoked, even though it is Oakland.

Beating the ACC 6-5 in the challenge makes them far and away the best? I'd put them right on par with the ACC honestly. That Va Tech-Purdue game really could have gone either way. Big Ten is still improved and a tough conference, no doubt. I feel like I'm always hating on them and I don't mean to. I just don't feel comfortable when people crown them the best. Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa are still very bad teams. Let's do tiers.

Tier 1 (Elite 8/Final Four contenders)
Ohio State - Hate em so much. But they are good.
Michigan State - Best tourney team. Best coach in Big Ten EASILY.

Tier 2 (Sweet 16 contenders)
Illinois - Impressed with their win against UNC. 3rd best Big Ten team.

Tier 3 (Overrated teams that will still make the tourney but are not that good)
Minnesota - Cracked up when they lost to Va at home. Good team. Not a top 15 team.
Purdue - They play 2 top 100 teams in their OOC schedule and win 1 in OT and get blown out in the other. You'd think I would like IU with the amount of hate I show PU but I think they just suck.
Wisconsin - Ugly basketball. They always play ugly, but losing the ND at home should not happen. It's home.

Tier 4 (Bubble tourney teams)
Northwestern
Michigan

Tier 5 (Bad basketball teams)
Indiana
Penn State
Iowa

The Tiers did nothing to compare the Big Ten to other conferences.

Steve201

12-02-2010, 02:28 AM

Beating the ACC 6-5 in the challenge makes them far and away the best? I'd put them right on par with the ACC honestly. That Va Tech-Purdue game really could have gone either way. Big Ten is still improved and a tough conference, no doubt. I feel like I'm always hating on them and I don't mean to. I just don't feel comfortable when people crown them the best. Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa are still very bad teams. Let's do tiers.

Tier 1 (Elite 8/Final Four contenders)
Ohio State - Hate em so much. But they are good.
Michigan State - Best tourney team. Best coach in Big Ten EASILY.

Tier 2 (Sweet 16 contenders)
Illinois - Impressed with their win against UNC. 3rd best Big Ten team.

Tier 3 (Overrated teams that will still make the tourney but are not that good)
Minnesota - Cracked up when they lost to Va at home. Good team. Not a top 15 team.
Purdue - They play 2 top 100 teams in their OOC schedule and win 1 in OT and get blown out in the other. You'd think I would like IU with the amount of hate I show PU but I think they just suck.
Wisconsin - Ugly basketball. They always play ugly, but losing the ND at home should not happen. It's home.

Tier 4 (Bubble tourney teams)
Northwestern
Michigan

Tier 5 (Bad basketball teams)
Indiana
Penn State
Iowa

The Tiers did nothing to compare the Big Ten to other conferences.

Wisconsin definitely does not play ugly basketball. They have struggled at times in certain games but they run a very smooth offense and have had low turnover numbers under Bo Ryan.

Their loss to ND was also not at home, it was a tournament in Florida I believe. Had that been at home it probably would have been a ten point Wisconsin victory as they always play extremely well at the Kohl Center. I'd throw the Badgers in their with Illinois as a sweet 16 contender. They wont go any farther than that but with Jon Leuer and a solid core of players they'll contend for a top 4 spot in conference.

Picc5455

12-02-2010, 02:31 AM

Beating the ACC 6-5 in the challenge makes them far and away the best? I'd put them right on par with the ACC honestly. That Va Tech-Purdue game really could have gone either way. Big Ten is still improved and a tough conference, no doubt. I feel like I'm always hating on them and I don't mean to. I just don't feel comfortable when people crown them the best. Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa are still very bad teams. Let's do tiers.

Tier 1 (Elite 8/Final Four contenders)
Ohio State - Hate em so much. But they are good.
Michigan State - Best tourney team. Best coach in Big Ten EASILY.

Tier 2 (Sweet 16 contenders)
Illinois - Impressed with their win against UNC. 3rd best Big Ten team.

Tier 3 (Overrated teams that will still make the tourney but are not that good)
Minnesota - Cracked up when they lost to Va at home. Good team. Not a top 15 team.
Purdue - They play 2 top 100 teams in their OOC schedule and win 1 in OT and get blown out in the other. You'd think I would like IU with the amount of hate I show PU but I think they just suck.
Wisconsin - Ugly basketball. They always play ugly, but losing the ND at home should not happen. It's home.

Tier 4 (Bubble tourney teams)
Northwestern
Michigan

Tier 5 (Bad basketball teams)
Indiana
Penn State
Iowa

The Tiers did nothing to compare the Big Ten to other conferences.

I just wanna say that Purdue could end up surprising a lot of people this season. The season has barely begun and they aren't doing terribly without Hummel. They have a long season ahead of them to figure out how to win without Hummel and be efficient. Painter is a good coach and knows what he has to do to make Purdue a good team. I wouldn't be shocked if they ended up contending for the Big 10 title. They just need to figure a few things out and they should be a pretty good team that no one should take lightly. I wanna see how they do in conference play but I wouldn't count them out just yet.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-02-2010, 02:38 AM

Wisconsin definitely does not play ugly basketball. They have struggled at times in certain games but they run a very smooth offense and have had low turnover numbers under Bo Ryan.

Their loss to ND was also not at home, it was a tournament in Florida I believe. Had that been at home it probably would have been a ten point Wisconsin victory as they always play extremely well at the Kohl Center. I'd throw the Badgers in their with Illinois as a sweet 16 contender. They wont go any farther than that but with Jon Leuer and a solid core of players they'll contend for a top 4 spot in conference.

Ugly was my term for low-scoring, fundamental basketball. It sounds more derogatory that it my be. I've always considered them ugly. 50-35 win against Manhattan. Ugly. Not necessarily bad, but just ugly.

And recent tournament history has made me think they are not good:
2010:
1st round - squeaked one out against Wofford, 53-49
2nd round- drubbed by Cornell 87-69

2009:
1st round - squeaked one out against Florida St. 61-59 in OT
2nd round - drubbed by Xavier 60-49

2008:
They did well this year. But they went 31-5. They aren't a 31-5 team this year. They had to have their best team to go Sweet 16. Michigan St. has an average team that is a 5 seed and Izzo takes them Final 4.
1st round - handily beat Cal St. Fullerton 71-56
2nd round - beat Kansas St. 72-55
Sweet 16 - drubbed by Davidson 73-56

2007:
1st round - beat Texas A&M CC 76-63
2nd round - tough loss to UNLV 74-68

2006:
1st round - ousted by Arizona 94-76

One Sweet 16 in the past 5 years just is not that impressive. Still should be good for the tourney.

ALSO OF NOTE: They may not be overrated since they are not ranked. Minnesota at 13th is overrated.

EDIT: Was definitely wrong about the home loss too. Slightly changes my thoughts on them. Should still beat ND, who I would consider about 7th-8th in the Big East.

Conigs

12-02-2010, 08:43 PM

Purdue is terrible. Easily the most overrated team this year. It is unbelievable how this team could even (and they will) make the tournament. Their offense is one on one and their defense has no help.

Wisconsin is so much worse. A good coach will dissect them every single time. Finally someone brought up how bad they are in the NCAA tournament. Once they go away from home and play real teams they go down quickly.

As bad as they are, Ohio State and Michigan State are cold. And it's exciting to watch them play.

And my Muskies are awful. Simple enough.

nikefree21

12-02-2010, 09:26 PM

TTposter

12-02-2010, 09:28 PM

Purdue was overrated because every rating assumed Hummel would be playing

Michael Johnson

12-02-2010, 09:33 PM

i know its very very very very unlikely, so don't attack me for bringing it up.... but i think undefeated regular season is possible for duke. the ACC is so bad this year, duke could very well not play another ranked team until march

also, i'm suspicious dick vitale heard insider rumors that kyrie wants to stay another year to play with austin rivers. he just kept bringing it up over and over again, and that seemed really weird to me because (1) he would otherwise probably be operating under the assumption irving would be leaving after this year and (2) he hadn't been constantly bringing up the possibility of that duo in previous games this season. something got him excited for it this week.

I agree, undefeated season is definitely a possibility, but Duke always has their "NC State game" once a year where they lose to a terrible ACC team, they'll probably stumble somewhere along the way

and oh god please let whatever Vitale heard be true, Irving staying would make the team next year basically the same if not better than this years team

Mr. Irrelevant

12-02-2010, 09:33 PM

1. Minnesota at 13th was not overrated unitl they lost to Virginia.
2. To the dude that's going to the Michigan vs Oakland game, I bet Oakland wins.
3. Wisconsin has too many white players to be good.

Minnesota does have a fairly impressive resume thus far. I just don't think they are that good. We will see come Big Ten play.

And as much as I love the Grizzlies, I don't think they'll be very close. I hope I'm wrong. It's cool they are playing some Big Ten powerhouses though. (MSU, Ill, OSU). I think that will pay off come postseason time.

boltoncct&f

12-03-2010, 07:00 AM

Minnesota has found a way to elbow their way into the Memphis high school basketball talent pool. One of better players, Hollins, has been doing well. The reason why I bring this up is that they have signed Andre Hollins (yes another Hollins but not related) who just put up 46 on Findley Prep, last night. This kid will be a top 20 player before the year is over. The future looks bright for this team.

martyr

12-03-2010, 09:15 AM

nikefree21

12-03-2010, 01:01 PM

big HA NO to your whole post.
Thanks for elaborating

FIRE CHIEF

12-04-2010, 09:59 AM

The Big Ten is pretty solid up to 7 or 8. The reason that challenge was close is just because Iowa, Penn State and Indiana are awful.

Donkeykongrunner

12-04-2010, 03:45 PM

Impossible for Butler to beat Duke and the refs. This game is another lopsided Duke officiated game.

Picc5455

12-04-2010, 04:29 PM

Impossible for Butler to beat Duke and the refs. This game is another lopsided Duke officiated game.

Haha come on man thats not true. The calls have been going both ways and you know it. Butler had a chance when Duke was shooting exclusively from 3 point land and missing almost every shot but they didn't capitalize on that. Duke came back in the end and played like the number 1 team in the country to win the game.

Donkeykongrunner

12-04-2010, 04:41 PM

Haha come on man thats not true. The calls have been going both ways and you know it. Butler had a chance when Duke was shooting exclusively from 3 point land and missing almost every shot but they didn't capitalize on that. Duke came back in the end and played like the number 1 team in the country to win the game.

It was a really close game until butler's 5 best players were out with foul trouble and one with a muscle cramp.

When their best 5 were done with foul trouble they got killed. No coincidence.

Picc5455

12-04-2010, 04:46 PM

It was a really close game until butler's 5 best players were out with foul trouble and one with a muscle cramp.

When their best 5 were done with foul trouble they got killed. No coincidence.

They ****ed up by not scoring enough points when duke was running dry because they can't hit every shot from beyond the arc. Duke got just as many ****ty fouls called on them it went both ways. It's hard to convince me of this seeing as this excuse is always thrown around when Duke wins.

Donkeykongrunner

12-04-2010, 05:00 PM

FIRE CHIEF

12-04-2010, 05:38 PM

If Duke doesn't go undefeated they should consider it a lost season. They have the chance to do something nobody has in a while and need to take advantage of it.

young money

12-04-2010, 06:24 PM

They get calls because of the name and the coach. They are a better team than butler, yes. But they also got a ton of calls today they shouldn't have. Even the announcers were saying "Oh, i'm not so sure that was a block" "That just looked like good aggressive play." etc.
you have no idea what you are talking about. i love butler probably more than anyone else here and dislike duke, but butler got their fair share of calls. The problem was Shelvin mack couldn't play the 2nd half. He was the best player on the court for a while and Butler needed him to continue his good play throughout the game. Simple as that.

TTposter

12-04-2010, 06:27 PM

Michigan State will beat Syracuse by 20+

Michael Johnson

12-04-2010, 07:06 PM

you have no idea what you are talking about. i love butler probably more than anyone else here and dislike duke, but butler got their fair share of calls. The problem was Shelvin mack couldn't play the 2nd half. He was the best player on the court for a while and Butler needed him to continue his good play throughout the game. Simple as that.

thank you for being one of the first people I've seen that dislikes Duke that didn't blame the game on the refs

I'm sick of hearing everyone use the "hurr refs gave the game to duke" excuse every single game. Sure, they have gotten calls before, just like every other big name team has, but that doesn't give you people that hate Duke a free pass to blame every game for the rest of your lives on reffing. If anyone actually watched the game against Butler today they would have seen that Duke was in some foul trouble themselves, Singler kept getting called for ridiculously soft touch fouls and fouled out because of it, and both teams had to sit their best few players in the first half due to quick fouls. It was pretty even officiating today, Butler just didn't take advantage when we missed 800 3-pointers in a row

The Saint

12-04-2010, 07:48 PM

I dislike Duke as much as anyone and I always wish to see them fail. Even I have to admit they have one helluva basketball team.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-04-2010, 07:58 PM

Michigan State will beat Syracuse by 20+

Not in December. Syracuse is still a good basketball team. Was it Boeheim who said this was his worst team in a long time though? MSU will hopefully win, but not by 20+. Perhaps you were just exaggerating since you were upset about Syracuse not playing good basketball, and if that's the case then yeah. They aren't playing great basketball.

TTposter

12-06-2010, 08:29 PM

Michigan State -1.

Free money people.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-06-2010, 08:37 PM

Michigan State -1.

Free money people.

The game being in New York hurts State's chances. With that said, I would still wager a small amount on them. I have no confidence after seeing them lose against every good non-conference team they faced last year (Gonzaga is not good for the record).

Donkeykongrunner

12-06-2010, 09:29 PM

thank you for being one of the first people I've seen that dislikes Duke that didn't blame the game on the refs

I'm sick of hearing everyone use the "hurr refs gave the game to duke" excuse every single game. Sure, they have gotten calls before, just like every other big name team has, but that doesn't give you people that hate Duke a free pass to blame every game for the rest of your lives on reffing. If anyone actually watched the game against Butler today they would have seen that Duke was in some foul trouble themselves, Singler kept getting called for ridiculously soft touch fouls and fouled out because of it, and both teams had to sit their best few players in the first half due to quick fouls. It was pretty even officiating today, Butler just didn't take advantage when we missed 800 3-pointers in a row

I don't blame every loss on fouls. Marquette (my team) lost to duke by 5 this year. I thought it was a pretty evenly called game. I don't think the butler game was at all.

Why would i complain about a team i dont care about (butler) but not my own team?

young money

12-06-2010, 10:03 PM

I don't blame every loss on fouls. Marquette (my team) lost to duke by 5 this year. I thought it was a pretty evenly called game. I don't think the butler game was at all.

Why would i complain about a team i dont care about (butler) but not my own team?
because you don't know what you're talking about.

chrisdiaz16

12-07-2010, 01:53 PM

The butler game was scary... Can't wait to see singler start playing better
Seth curry basically hasn't been playing at all the past couple of games

Donkeykongrunner

12-07-2010, 03:56 PM

because you don't know what you're talking about.

You're just a homer.

young money

12-07-2010, 05:16 PM

You're just a homer.
do you even understand what a homer is?

you're telling me i'm a homer because i don't think butler got the shaft with calls even though i have openly stated my rooting interest in butler? haha that's the exact opposite of a homer if anything.

FIRE CHIEF

12-07-2010, 08:21 PM

So I watched the great Memphis coached by boy genius Pastner. They are no different than old Memphis. Great athletes, great length, awful shooters with no set offense. Sweet 16/Elite 8.

boltoncct&f

12-07-2010, 08:30 PM

Speaking of Homers;)

No loss is a good loss, but if Memphis was going to lose to anyone, I'm glad it was a top team. This pains me to say, but we needed to lose. We started out so well, albeit against much lesser opponents, but none the less, we started out well: Rebounding, assists, fast breaks, three point percentage, free throw percentage, etc. It just looked like things were going to be great. Then the Miami game came along, and I noticed that some guys were trying to "showcase" themselves. It got worse as the games went on. It was not as bad, tonight, but I think that those who watched saw what I'm talking about. These guys need a reality check, and we just got one.

Don't get me wrong, I still think we are going to be fine and go deep in the tournament, but we have to learn how to play team basketball first. We now have a group of guys hanging their heads, and maybe now they will pay attention to Pastner.

Kansas does not look like a team that just lost three NBA players. Hats off to Bill Self and his squad.

At this point, I will agree that we are not at top 10 team BUT I give us another month and we will be there. Too many individuals out there, but they are talented. I think we had more ability out there, but Kansas knew how to play the game better.

TTposter

12-07-2010, 08:32 PM

Yeah because in another month they'll be playing in Conference USA

boltoncct&f

12-07-2010, 08:38 PM

No, because I know how good these guys are. Joe Jackson is not even in the ball park of how he usually plays. The same can be said about Will Barton and Chris Crawford too. I've watched all of them play against NBA players and hold their own. Witherspoon needs to accept the leadership role and be the man (which he can be) but was not tonight. Tarik Black is probably the only guy who is playing like I knew he would, but he is still trying to adjust to the fact that he is now playing agianst guys his own size now. Once he adjusts.... watchout.

And don't put down C-USA. We have had good teams in the past, and if I'm not mistaken, C-USA teams have already taken down some ranked teams, this year;)

young money

12-07-2010, 08:39 PM

lol memphis looked like they always do. completely lost in the half court and only able to get any sort of consistent offense off of turnovers and getting out in transition. so much iso going on in the halfcourt along with a lot of bricking. efforts like last night were why i had to rip on you bolton for jocking memphis as a top 5 team and using massive hyperbole. they sure looked like they can get whatever they want on offense huh?:rolleyes:
bump. sorry bolton.

see your problem is you keep using the 'they're so talented' argument as a crutch to fall back on. You may have seen these players in high school games, but have you ever seen these players in college? The answer is mostly no. And making shots at practice or a shoot around is the worst indicator ever of shooting ability. I've seen Rajon Rondo make 45 out of 50 NBA 3s at practice but that doesn't mean he hits them in games regularly. Of course pretty good players are going to hit their fair share of shots at practice, but things are a bit different during an actual game.

Conigs

12-07-2010, 09:00 PM

I just watched Kansas earlier and am watching Michigan State's game right now. The ball movement by these two teams is why they are always among the elite teams in the nation.

Having watched all but 2 of Xavier's games this season... we suck at ball movement. (we suck at a lot more than just that though)
If we could ever move the ball on offense then we would actually get people open occasionally. That and if we could ever finish anything near the rim.

Butler on Thursday in Cintas. Bob Knight will be in the building. Going to be fun, as long as we don't get systematically dismantled.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-07-2010, 09:16 PM

Michigan State will beat Syracuse by 20+

http://www.tracktalk.net/images/icons/icon11.gif

TTposter

12-07-2010, 09:18 PM

http://www.tracktalk.net/images/icons/icon11.gif

hey hey that was in the heat of the moment. still think msu wins by 5.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-07-2010, 09:20 PM

hey hey that was in the heat of the moment. still think msu wins by 5.

Haha yeah I sort of agree. I love how Izzo messes around with the lineups to see what works. Boeheim is a great coach, too. They are playing some good defense.

boltoncct&f

12-07-2010, 09:25 PM

bump. sorry bolton.

Yeah, you will be.

TTposter

12-07-2010, 10:44 PM

boy am i glad to be wrong! Jackson is a beast.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-07-2010, 10:48 PM

boy am i glad to be wrong! Jackson is a beast.

I think Boeheim is smart for saying his team sucks. This team is like one of his top 8.

the architect

12-08-2010, 12:37 AM

I think Boeheim is smart for saying his team sucks. This team is like one of his top 8.

to be fair he never said sucks, he said most overrated team he's ever had

FIRE CHIEF

12-11-2010, 11:09 AM

St. Louis is going to give Duke trouble. Playing them is like going to the dentist. They won't have enough offense to score but this will be a great slow down game to give Duke some more experience for later in the season.

TTposter

12-11-2010, 02:03 PM

Remember back in the day when you got fouled under the TV timeout time you would still shoot the free throw and only go to commercial if the guy made it? Good times.

Also Louisville beats UNLV. Apparently that white guy went off from 3.

Wisconsin Marquette now should be good.

therunner12

12-11-2010, 03:11 PM

Big 12 v Pac 10.

Let's go.

TeamOrange

12-11-2010, 03:23 PM

I feel bad for Pitt, Tenn is literally hitting everything and Pitt is playing pretty good defense

therunner12

12-11-2010, 04:06 PM

Washington can't keep up with our rebounding.

TeamOrange

12-11-2010, 04:13 PM

Washington can't keep up with our rebounding.

Washington is not good. I also found out that Issiah Thomas on Washington is named after the player cause his dad lost a bet.

therunner12

12-11-2010, 04:14 PM

Washington is not good. I also found out that Issiah Thomas on Washington is named after the player cause his dad lost a bet.

They can shoot pretty damn well.

young money

12-11-2010, 04:18 PM

I feel bad for Pitt, Tenn is literally hitting everything and Pitt is playing pretty good defense
Pitt is just really overrated.

Also, I like seeing Tennessee and Bruce Pearl succeed because of the ridiculous hate he gets from some posters here.

therunner12

12-11-2010, 04:21 PM

Pitt is just really overrated.

Also, I like seeing Tennessee and Bruce Pearl succeed because of the ridiculous hate he gets from some posters here.

He is hated on quite as bit for some reason. I mean he's goofy looking and he cheats but I think we'd be hard-pressed to find a good college program that didn't cheat.

TeamOrange

12-11-2010, 04:22 PM

young money

12-11-2010, 04:37 PM

Who hates on them here? Tennessee is shooting lights out, would be hard for any team to beat them tonight
any of the illinois posters who follow basketball hate him obviously plus a few randoms who just dislike Bruce Pearl.

And yeah Tennessee is playing well, but it doesn't change that Pitt is really overrated. Both FC and I mentioned it a few pages back even.

usnspecialist

12-11-2010, 07:24 PM

Pitt is just really overrated.

Also, I like seeing Tennessee and Bruce Pearl succeed because of the ridiculous hate he gets from some posters here.

Who hates on them here? Tennessee is shooting lights out, would be hard for any team to beat them tonight

i dont have any particular feelings on UT, but i despise bruce pearl more than any person in college athletics.

TeamOrange

12-11-2010, 07:40 PM

Just read that Josh Selby will be eligible soon (kind of old news) but the kid is a stud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEGg_qIFvY&feature=channel

Edit: not sure why it isn't working

boltoncct&f

12-13-2010, 06:47 AM

TeamOrange

12-13-2010, 09:49 AM

Bruce Pearl is coaching his last season at Tennessee. Book it. He will be hard pressed to get any new signees as well. The program will face tough times in the future, unless they get a good coach to replace him.

Memphis lost Witherspoon for 5 weeks for knee surgery. Garcia got offered a contract to play basketball in Spain, and he took it:confused: so he is gone. We now have two people, who are not freshmen, playing on the team. This could get ugly:o

You could not be more wrong about Pearl. Why would they stick by him through this mess, if they are going to let him go at seasons end? He has been one of the most successful coaches in the past decade. It would make no sense for him to leave

boltoncct&f

12-13-2010, 10:38 AM

You could not be more wrong about Pearl. Why would they stick by him through this mess, if they are going to let him go at seasons end? He has been one of the most successful coaches in the past decade. It would make no sense for him to leave

The NCAA has not even made a decision on Pearl yet. His suspension, that he is getting ready to serve, is from UT, not the NCAA. The NCAA already made a statement that the suspension was laughable. He is in very deep, lying to the NCAA on top of the proven allegations, and my guess is that they will lay down the hammer on him, just like Sampson not that long ago.

Now, why they would stick with him....? I could come up with $everal rea$on$, but I'm $ure you could come up with tho$e too.

He has brought UT to prominence (no doubt) and that means money for them. Getting every last drop of money they can, before he is shown the door by the NCAA.

young money

12-13-2010, 11:37 AM

The NCAA has not even made a decision on Pearl yet. His suspension, that he is getting ready to serve, is from UT, not the NCAA. The NCAA already made a statement that the suspension was laughable. He is in very deep, lying to the NCAA on top of the proven allegations, and my guess is that they will lay down the hammer on him, just like Sampson not that long ago.

Now, why they would stick with him....? I could come up with $everal rea$on$, but I'm $ure you could come up with tho$e too.

He has brought UT to prominence (no doubt) and that means money for them. Getting every last drop of money they can, before he is shown the door by the NCAA.
actually, he was suspended by the SEC, which honestly, was a retarded move by their commissioner. It's an NCAA investigation and an NCAA violation so you let them deal with it.

FIRE CHIEF

12-13-2010, 02:28 PM

Pearl has become much more successful since he quit pressing so agressively. How come nobody mentions that? He had a flawed system for years at Tennessee and through suspensions and injuries he has had to become far more conventional. He is proving he can actually coach a little.

skurey

12-14-2010, 11:15 PM

Tennessee loses to Oakland and Louisville loses to Drexel.

usnspecialist

12-14-2010, 11:23 PM

i will now take this moment to laugh at bruce pearl. That being said, oakland is a sneaky good team i think and might cause some headaches in march.

young money

12-15-2010, 01:19 AM

nikefree21

12-15-2010, 01:31 AM

I'll say it again to the chap going to the december 18th game michigan vs oakland WATCH OUT. Now feedz the neg repz again

martyr

12-18-2010, 08:14 PM

2. To the dude that's going to the Michigan vs Oakland game, I bet Oakland wins.

Michigan dominated the game today. Only an 18 point win, but they dominated in every facet of the game. In my opinion, two tournament teams went at it today, and Michigan proved they're about to make some big waves.

skurey

12-18-2010, 08:23 PM

Oakland lost by 1 to Michigan St like last week...they also have a future NBA center and were a tournament team last year, plenty of big schools lose to good mid majors around this time. Tennessee will be fine, they are pretty decent this year.

Aaaaaand they lost to Charlotte.

"But but but Charlotte is in the A10 and they are always tough despite their 5-6 record"

Zags also take down Baylor.

young money

12-18-2010, 08:29 PM

Aaaaaand they lost to Charlotte.

"But but but Charlotte is in the A10 and they are always tough despite their 5-6 record"

Zags also take down Baylor.
no excuses, Tennessee is decent but they were over ranked a bit and its still early season. Stacked UNC of a few years ago lost to Santa Clara in the OOC, that sure doomed them.

usnspecialist

12-19-2010, 12:08 AM

i will now take this moment to laugh at bruce pearl.

felt it was appropriate to quote this with some modifications.

Mr. Irrelevant

12-19-2010, 12:48 AM

Michigan dominated the game today. Only an 18 point win, but they dominated in every facet of the game. In my opinion, two tournament teams went at it today, and Michigan proved they're about to make some big waves.

No people are way too hyped up on Oakland. They are not that good, guys. Not terrible, but not good. Yes they played State well and beat Tennessee. Obviously something is wrong with both of those teams right now.

Big waves? No, but maybe a bubble team. Probably NIT though. Only decent win is at Clemson.

Swoosh13

12-19-2010, 09:16 AM

No people are way too hyped up on Oakland. They are not that good, guys. Not terrible, but not good. Yes they played State well and beat Tennessee. Obviously something is wrong with both of those teams right now.

Big waves? No, but maybe a bubble team. Probably NIT though. Only decent win is at Clemson.

Oakland is pretty good. They had Illinois on the ropes too and hung around with Purdue into the 2nd half. Michigan under B___ always wins games that makes you think they are good and then proceeds to drop a bunch of bad ones.

ElHollingsworth

12-19-2010, 06:40 PM

tennessee sucks.

FIRE CHIEF

12-19-2010, 08:58 PM

Sean Miller is quietly putting things together at Arizona. They should be the favorite to win the PAAC 10 heading itno the conference season.

usnspecialist

12-22-2010, 09:37 PM

this illinois/mizzou game is ugly to watch, both teams struggling to hit shots inside. It is amusing to see my friends (jenuine and eternal freshman for you old statters) on tv constantly though.

EDIT: of course as soon as i say that, it turns into a pretty good game.

usnspecialist

12-22-2010, 10:08 PM

BONK

12-22-2010, 10:21 PM

what a bullsh!t intentional foul call to end this game. He barely tapped him. If i am bruce weber i am saying whatever it takes for the officials to toss me out of this game.

EDIT: tisdale was retarded for trying to foul there in the first place, but there is no way that was intentional.

QFE. Seriously a terrible play and a terrible call. If Tisdale was gonna hit him at all he should have gotten his money's worth and decked the guy. Realistically though he shouldn't even have touched him, or needed to if the Illini hadn't been too amazed with themselves making a shot to get back on defense.

the stogs

12-22-2010, 10:39 PM

hey FC, you got on our case last year about syracuse, but what are your thoughts about them this year? the past month or so they've handled a couple pretty good teams (michigan st, iona, and now tonight drexel) pretty easily. i dont want to say that they're a better team than last year just yet but they're definitely deeper and more balanced than a year ago

usnspecialist

12-22-2010, 10:41 PM

the stogs

12-22-2010, 10:44 PM

not to downgrade cuse, but this michigan state team is not your typical sparty team. They are soft and not aggressive at all.
oh no doubt. i was at that game and was not impressed by mich st at all, but i'd say all around the country the overall level of teams is down this year (outside of duke) i just think syracuse is improving dramatically each game and compares better to the rest of the country than they did last year

Mr. Irrelevant

12-22-2010, 10:56 PM

The Oakland bandwagon should be dying down soon. Losing to Valpo at home is just awful. They have 1 good win against Tennessee. And then their next best win is Austin Peay.

And poor Michigan State. These guys are honestly playing like a bubble team. I was starting to panic after Cuse. Everyone told me Izzo has it under control. But it's time to panic.

The Big Ten is vastly overrated, but what's new? Texas and Mizzou beat MSU and Ill. Kansas is better than OSU IMO. Big 12 > Big Ten. One of the "Big East scrubs" (as told by a buddy of mine) just beat a supposed tourney team in Northwestern. And they did it by 15. St. John's would get 5th or 6th in the Big Ten.

Conigs

12-22-2010, 11:09 PM

*wishing for it to be next year so Justin Martin will be eligible, Brad Reford will be un-hurt, and for our nasty recruiting class to come to school so we can actually be a good team again.

Xavier doesn't play defense without fouling. It's pretty annoying.

And Tu Holloway is a stud. If we didn't have him, we would be the worst team in the A-10.

FIRE CHIEF

12-27-2010, 09:54 AM

Bold prediction for me as the Big East starts. UConn will go 8-10 in conference play. They are young and shooting very well this far. I think a little cooling down coupled with some adversity will put them in collapse mode.

Pitt is a solid sweet 16 team as usual. They'll grind one out tonight.

FIRE CHIEF

12-28-2010, 12:40 PM

Wisconsin by double digits over Minnesota tonight. Take it to the bank.

Conigs

12-28-2010, 01:04 PM

Good article about people doing the right thing. I'm only posting this cause it hasn't been mentioned on ESPN so I doubt if anyone's seen it.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101227/SPT0102/312270112/1065/Opponent-lends-XU-helping-hand

I plan on watching the Wisco-Minnesota game at the same time as the XU-Albany game tonight. Not really sold on Wisco, never am. We'll see if this year changes that. The game is at Wisco, so Minnesota probably doesn't have a chance.

FIRE CHIEF

12-28-2010, 01:08 PM

I'm not sold on Wisconsin as anything more than a second round team. It's just right after the holiday and the first conference game of the season would be a big advantage to the home team. Especially Wisconsin. Especially since IMO Minnesota has played well over their head so far.

the stogs

12-28-2010, 08:49 PM

cuse up 10 on providence at the half. orange offense is clicking but the defense is givin up too many open shots and letting brooks (top prov scorer) get into the lane too easily

skurey

12-29-2010, 01:25 AM

Syracuse just doesn't put teams away. Will come back to hurt them.

Conigs

12-29-2010, 04:18 PM

This season keeps getting better and better.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5966549

Picc5455

12-29-2010, 08:40 PM

Bump for Coack K's 880th win.

Conigs

12-29-2010, 09:04 PM

Legendary.

Kansas is struggling a little bit on the defensive side of things against UT-Arlington in the first half.

Tennessee barely wins against UT-Martin, who lost by SIXTY to Ohio State earlier this week.

Vandy and Marquette are locked up in a good one in Nashville at the half.

And the other game of note was that Notre Dame beat Georgetown, which isn't too surprising as the game was in South Bend. ND's big weakness is down in the post, and the bigger Big East teams will punish them down there.

Mr. Irrelevant

01-01-2011, 02:30 AM

usnspecialist

01-01-2011, 05:42 AM

So what is with Tennessee? Losing to College of Charleston by 13? Their past 6 games have been hilarious. Only 2 wins are Belmont by 1 and Tennessee-Martin by 6. If they keep this up, they may be playing in the NIT.

i am laughing so hard right now, bruce pearl can suck it, i hope he gets sh!tcanned and never works again. A slimier man does not exist in college athletics.

FIRE CHIEF

01-01-2011, 11:18 PM

Time to at least start the debate. Ohio State is closer to Duke than they are the rest of the country. They have been really impressive. The length on defense and the dead eye shooting of Buford and Diebler makes them almost impossible to match up with.

Carmelo

01-01-2011, 11:26 PM

Syracuse gets a big win over ND. Kris Joseph for Big East player of the year.

FIRE CHIEF

01-01-2011, 11:28 PM

Syracuse gets a big win over ND. Kris Joseph for Big East player of the year.

That was a good win for Syracuse. Notre Dame is a great zone buster teama nd I thought they would give you guys some trouble today. This Syracuse team is better than last year's IMO. Last year's was overrated from day 1.

skurey

01-02-2011, 02:20 AM

That was a good win for Syracuse. Notre Dame is a great zone buster teama nd I thought they would give you guys some trouble today. This Syracuse team is better than last year's IMO. Last year's was overrated from day 1.

ugh please.

Anyway, hoping this isn't the start of Jackson disappearing against legit big men.

young money

01-02-2011, 12:15 PM

Syracuse gets a big win over ND. Kris Joseph for Big East player of the year.
no.
Time to at least start the debate. Ohio State is closer to Duke than they are the rest of the country. They have been really impressive. The length on defense and the dead eye shooting of Buford and Diebler makes them almost impossible to match up with.
i think ohio state is solidly better than duke without Irving.

the stogs

01-02-2011, 12:40 PM

kris joseph hasnt been consistent all year. he needs to continue what he's been doing for the past three games for the rest of the year to even be in the conversation

FIRE CHIEF

01-02-2011, 07:09 PM

i think ohio state is solidly better than duke without Irving.

Same. Just didn't want to say it because people think I'm an Ohio State homer. They have a much better team than they did with Oden and Conley IMO.

The one weakness they have is lack of a true experienced PG. Kraft is a tough kid though and can probably handle it. Just the way Duke pressures the ball in the halfcourt could give them some trouble.

FIRE CHIEF

01-02-2011, 10:30 PM

Oregon State is giving a good tutorial on junk defenses against Arizona right now. They have thrown about three or four different zones at them. They were even box & 1ing Derrick Williams.

FIRE CHIEF

01-02-2011, 10:44 PM

Sean Miller is taking over this game. He is running some great sets and Arizona is getting any shot they want. The guys are missing most of them, but it looks like he has a good read on Oregon State. This would be a great win for Arizona. 2-0 start on the road in conference play. They are my favorite to win the PAC 10.

boltoncct&f

01-06-2011, 08:46 AM

I'm not sure how many watched the egg that Memphis laid last night at Tennessee, but it was pretty bad. I hate that it seems like every team goes for 50+ % behind the arc on us, but they do. Our defense is non existent too.

I'm not saying the season is over, but we had such high hopes, and so many things have gone wrong. Witherspoon injures his knee, has surgery, comes back, and is nothing like he used to be. Kendrick gets booted from the team (though he may be back next year) and he would have easily been the best player on the team. Garcia decides to go pro over in Spain:rolleyes: and the next thing you know, we are totally relying on nothing but freshmen. Though they have talent, they are clearly not used to playing organized ball, and this season looks like there is going to have to be a lot of lessons learned. So hats off to young money and Fire Chief for calling this early on.

As for Pastner, he may be over his head now, but he's learning too. He is going to have to toughen up, though. He knows his stuff. I got to watch a practice. The problem is that the players will do it right for one trip down the floor (in practice) and go right back to street ball the next trip. He won't have much hair on his head if this keeps up.

As for other teams, Duke and Ohio State look the best to me. Notre Dame is surprising too. They are looking like a final four team.

Conigs

01-06-2011, 09:10 AM

Kendrick gets booted from the team (though he may be back next year) and he would have easily been the best player on the team.

Nope. Gone. Signed with Ole Miss.

http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/123010aaa.html

boltoncct&f

01-06-2011, 09:30 AM

Nope. Gone. Signed with Ole Miss.

http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/123010aaa.html

Yeah, but I also heard that he might not see that through. I don't care one way or the other. He tried to fight everyone on the team. The same thing he got kicked out of three high schools for. He has a problem BUT he is a huge talent, no doubt.

YRLegend

01-06-2011, 10:05 AM

The way I see it right now, Duke and Ohio State woud be an interesting matchup. I don't really think Ohio State's defense is all that impressive, and I think Duke could score pretty easily. However, if they are missing threes, they are done. Smith is penetrating well right now but against inferior opposition. When he isn't able to get into the lane like Irving can, Duke will become a team full of shooters and they will live and die by the 3. Their defense is solid. I'm not sure they have an answer for Sullinger with the way the Plumlees get in foul trouble and fail to get in solid rebounding position consistently. Their athleticism cannot overcome his superior strength and ability. Duke usually defends the 3 well but Lighty and Buford may be able to penetrate well against the pressure defense if they spread out and provide scoring opportunities. Kraft will get eaten up though. I think they are pretty even with basically whether or not Duke is hitting well from 3 determining the game.
I also think Kansas and Syracuse are close to this tier. I love Kansas's balance. They lack true playmaking I think, but Taylor is a solid point. They have some shooters. They have terrific size as well and the ability to rebound and run the floor. For some reason they struggle to bring it every time though. I don't think Self is all that great.
Syracuse is pretty tough. Watching them a couple times, they have great size and length in that zone. Notre Dame couldn't even find many threes in that game against the 2-3, and as long as Jackson stays productive, they are very tough. They are scoring much better than I thought they would.

FIRE CHIEF

01-06-2011, 04:39 PM

Conigs

01-06-2011, 04:47 PM

7pm.
ESPN2.
Xavier at Cincinnati.

Watch if you want to see a fight, and maybe a basketball game will break out.

YRLegend

01-06-2011, 04:57 PM

As I actually look more at them, yeah I was wrong for the most part. I have watched them twice really against Florida and Indiana. They were dominant in both games, but they let IU shoot over 50% and IU hung around for a long time. I'm from Indiana, and I know quite well how bad that team is. If they could stop Ohio State at all, they had a shot in that game. As for the Florida game I remembered Florida scoring pretty easily, and I went back and checked. They shot 61.5% from the field against Ohio State. Their idiot guards made some bad turnovers and once again they just could not stop Ohio State who shot even better. Lighty is obviously a terrific defender. Lauderdale can block shots. Sullinger cleans the d-boards. Just from the little I have seen against a semblance of quality opponents(their schedule has been a joke), they have given up a high field goal percentage, and when Lauderdale is out(he only plays 20 minutes), they lack a shot blocker and really have no height at all on the floor outside of Sullinger who of course is more a wide, strong man than tall. We'll see more when they get into the heart of Big Ten play obviously, and I'll reserve any decisive judgment until then.

FIRE CHIEF

01-06-2011, 04:59 PM

Easily my favorite rivalry in college basketball. It's always close, that's the only thing you can predict. My favorite moment ever was the year that dyke president fired Huggins from Cincinnati. He ended up sitting in THE LAST ROW of the arena watching it by himself. When they put him on the jumbotron the crowd went wild. Only now has Cincy fully recovered while West Virginia has made a final four and four NCAA tournaments. Plus he gave K-State the foundation to be an elite 8 team last year. Probably the most unwarranted and ridiculous firing in the history of college sports. Even worse than Mangino getting tossed from Kansas football.

Conigs

01-06-2011, 07:24 PM

Should have mentioned that this wouldn't even be a game this year. Too many pieces lost to injury. Fight back these last 12 minutes?

boltoncct&f

01-06-2011, 09:48 PM

Pastner is going to be a giant flop. Just like I called when he was hired. He didn't work his way up coaching at multiple programs at multiple levels being both assistant and head coaches just like most other great college coaches do. That's besides the fact that he has no idea how to run a halfcourt offense.

I would not say he is a flop, his only flaw is that he has to learn how to deal with these types of players. He has not concept of how to do so right now. He has coached 1 1/2 seasons now, and has yet to cuss. He got a tech, a couple of games ago, and even the ref was laughing because Pastner had to really keep trying in order to get it. That nice guy approach just won't cut it. But like I said, he knows what he is doing. I've seen it first hand. His assistants are pretty darn good too, they actually know how to handle these guys;) .

The team is composed of a ton of kids who obviously came from high school teams that never ran an offense or expected their studs to play defense. The plan and coaching is there, the ability of the players is not. This will be a learning process for these freshmen. Come next season, when they figure it out, we will be what we should have been this year.

Doc Awesome

01-07-2011, 12:18 AM

http://img.gatorarcade.com/Mobile/35/174343.jpg

FIRE CHIEF

01-09-2011, 11:17 AM

murphxc04

01-09-2011, 03:21 PM

I'm watching Cincinnati and Villanova. Neither team has played anybody yet this season and frankly, I think they are both pretty average teams. I actually think everybody in the Big East is going to lose 5 or 6 conference games. There are a bunch of top 32 teams but very few top 4 or 8 teams.

I agree Villanova isn't there yet. If they get more than one guard to play well, and more offense through their bigs Yarou and Pena, they can be tough to stop, but lately they've just been relying on very tough defense and one guy like Stokes or Fisher to carry them. Cincinnati doesn't have much offense outside of Gates, but today I thought they lost their heads a bit at the end of the first half. They took advantage of Nova turnovers/fouls to make a run, but Villanova just had more weapons.

young money

01-09-2011, 03:36 PM

Villlanova will be so much better off once both Stokes and Fisher are gone. Wayns is the real deal and the 6'7'' soph wing they have is legit too.

FIRE CHIEF

01-09-2011, 03:42 PM

Agreed. That will be addition by subtraction.

Ohio State is getting ready to lose. They have sleptwalked through the first three Big Ten teams. They just haven't played anybody yet.

chrisdiaz16

01-10-2011, 12:09 AM

duke not looking great at home against maryland tonight

Picc5455

01-10-2011, 12:14 AM

duke not looking great at home against maryland tonight

Not at all I was not happy watching this game. They pulled it together a bit towards the tail end of the game but jesus they played terribly.

chrisdiaz16

01-10-2011, 01:08 AM

Not at all I was not happy watching this game. They pulled it together a bit towards the tail end of the game but jesus they played terribly.

plumlees and r kelly got 6 points in 60 minutes of play

nice games from singler (25 points) and curry (12 points in 18 minutes)

YRLegend

01-10-2011, 10:58 AM

Singler and Curry saved Duke. Smith believed his own new hype as a POY candidate and tried way too hard and shot 5-18. Maryland is very scrappy and physical on defense, but if Duke made some open 3s early this game would have been comfortable for Duke throughout. Gary Williams is a terrific coach. All top 3 teams really struggled yesterday. Ohio State just let up. I was very impressed by Craft though. The kid looked very level-headed as a freshman point. Minnesota just has no offense at all, which was partially due to good OSU defense and mostly due to no movement or energy at all until the last 5 minutes. Kansas somehow let a terrible Michigan team back in it from 13 down. That was pretty sad, but they killed them in the overtime. Now Michigan gets Ohio State so the fun continues for Beilein's squad. I don't know whether Beilein or RichRod has sucked more for Michigan after leaving WVU, but man they really have done nothing.

Mr. Irrelevant

01-10-2011, 03:16 PM

Georgia is actually playing pretty good basketball and I don't know what to make of it.

Wins over Kentucky, UAB, Colorado
Losses to Notre Dame and Temple

RPI is 48th, they have played a handful of scrubs but so has every team.

Also, I did not realize how bad Auburn is. Wow. They are the worse team from any of the big 6 conferences by far. They beat FSU aka FSU is not making the tournament.

FIRE CHIEF

01-11-2011, 06:01 PM

I hate BYU. They always pad their record with an incredible home court then end up one and done in March. Don't be fooled.

phantomtofu

01-11-2011, 09:16 PM

Mr. Irrelevant

01-11-2011, 11:49 PM

Will call 2 round of 32 teams from the Big Ten. I can't believe people thought this was the best conference in college basketball.

FTT

01-12-2011, 01:01 AM

anyone think SDSU is really deserving of a 6 ranking? they play unlv and byu soo so i guess we will see if they r for real

Eva N

01-12-2011, 09:50 AM

Jimmer Fredette 45 points when coach took him out with ten minutes to go. BYU tends to not do so well in the tourney, but Jimmer's gonna do great things after college. At least 4 or more shots made from 30+ feet.

I don't know if all those slow-motion moves to the hoop will translate to the next level. Talented kid, way better than Gerry McNamara, say... but maybe not an NBA guy.

young money

01-12-2011, 10:19 AM

Fredette's too big and too good of a shooter to not get a look from an NBA team. Of course he won't be handling the ball like he does at BYU, but as a guy who can come in and knock down some jumpshots.

phantomtofu

01-12-2011, 11:01 AM

I don't know if all those slow-motion moves to the hoop will translate to the next level. Talented kid, way better than Gerry McNamara, say... but maybe not an NBA guy.

Yeah, I don't believe he'll be an NBA all-star because I don't think he's quick and athletic enough. He can shoot as well as any player in the game at any level, though, and will be a valuable asset to any team because opponents have to guard him so closely.

Eva N

01-12-2011, 12:31 PM

Fredette's too big and too good of a shooter to not get a look from an NBA team.

He's about 6'2", AFAIK. Small for an NBA shooting guard.

young money

01-12-2011, 01:21 PM

He's about 6'2", AFAIK. Small for an NBA shooting guard.
good thing he plays point guard then huh?

Conigs

01-12-2011, 01:43 PM

anyone think SDSU is really deserving of a 6 ranking? they play unlv and byu soo so i guess we will see if they r for real

Absolutely not. I'm very suspect of that team. I don't even think that UNLV and BYU are that good.

BYU is only a one man team and if anyone in the MWC would actually check Fredette, BYU would be so vulnerable. He's not that big, and he's not that fast. Wait until the NCAA Tournament when a team puts a 6'6 guard on him and checks him to < 20 points. BYU won't score more than 65, and they don't play enough defense to stop anybody.

young money

01-12-2011, 01:50 PM

UNLV is the best team in the MWC. They could maybe make the sweet 16 if things line up right. BYU is a fraud and SDSU is just really overrated. There's always a team out west that gets really overrated because they never play anyone and have good enough athletes to run roughshod through a weak conference, last year it was New Mexico, this year its SDSU.

Eva N

01-12-2011, 02:13 PM

good thing he plays point guard then huh?

Yeah... but do you honestly see him as a PG in the NBA?

Don't get me wrong, I love watching him play. His ability to get a shot off around the hoop against bigger, faster defenders is amazing.

mptrack12

01-12-2011, 02:42 PM

Absolutely not. I'm very suspect of that team. I don't even think that UNLV and BYU are that good.

BYU is only a one man team and if anyone in the MWC would actually check Fredette, BYU would be so vulnerable. He's not that big, and he's not that fast. Wait until the NCAA Tournament when a team puts a 6'6 guard on him and checks him to < 20 points. BYU won't score more than 65, and they don't play enough defense to stop anybody.

How tall was the guy from Florida in the first round last year when he dropped 37? Who was the better athlete?

Also, BYU has quite a few decent shooters so you have to watch out for them as well. Agreed they likely won't do anything in the tourney, but Fredette will still get his points.

Edit: wasn't the dude guarding him last night like 6'7?

young money

01-12-2011, 02:52 PM

Yeah... but do you honestly see him as a PG in the NBA?

Don't get me wrong, I love watching him play. His ability to get a shot off around the hoop against bigger, faster defenders is amazing.
why wouldn't he be a PG in the NBA, tell me that?
How tall was the guy from Florida in the first round last year when he dropped 37? Who was the better athlete?

Also, BYU has quite a few decent shooters so you have to watch out for them as well. Agreed they likely won't do anything in the tourney, but Fredette will still get his points.
I don't understand why you'd bring up that Florida game. Florida has probably the smallest starting guard tandem in the country between 5'8'' Walker and 6'2'' Boyton, thus basically proving the point you were trying to disprove.

mptrack12

01-12-2011, 03:34 PM

why wouldn't he be a PG in the NBA, tell me that?

I don't understand why you'd bring up that Florida game. Florida has probably the smallest starting guard tandem in the country between 5'8'' Walker and 6'2'' Boyton, thus basically proving the point you were trying to disprove.

Haha, I wasn't trying to disprove anything with the Florida comment. I was genuinely curious as I don't remember who guarded him during the tournament, but I remember he did well that first game. I don't watch much East Coast college ball.

DirtyRobe

01-12-2011, 04:49 PM

How tall was the guy from Florida in the first round last year when he dropped 37? Who was the better athlete?

Also, BYU has quite a few decent shooters so you have to watch out for them as well. Agreed they likely won't do anything in the tourney, but Fredette will still get his points.

Edit: wasn't the dude guarding him last night like 6'7?

Maybe but whoever is guarding him past the 1st in the tournament won't be such a scrub like the guy from last night.

Eva N

01-12-2011, 07:41 PM

why wouldn't he be a PG in the NBA, tell me that?

PG can't be the slowest non-center on the floor.

I don't know what's more hideous: Michigan's yellow uniforms, or Georgetown's play tonight.

young money

01-12-2011, 07:58 PM

meh, foot speed isn't that important for a backup point guard, which is what Fredette projects as. I also don't think he's as unathletic as everyone is making him out to be, you'd think he couldn't even dunk by the way some dog his athleticism. No one is confusing him for Rose or Westbrook, but you don't have to be a freak athlete to be an NBA point guard. When he plays point guard in the league, he's also not going to be asked to create a lot off the dribble, he'll be asked to spot up and knock down jumpers. I'm not saying he's going to be some good NBA player, but he'll make the league.

freerun13

01-12-2011, 08:10 PM

I have been impressed by Syracuse this year but i guarantee they won't make it to the final four because they can't shoot free throws. Right now there at 64% which puts them at 284th in the nation. If its a close game in the tournament this will hurt them.

Dyenimator

01-12-2011, 09:02 PM

Picc5455

01-12-2011, 09:20 PM

Duke might be handed their first loss of the season tonight. Jesus they are playing terribly.

ncrunner

01-12-2011, 09:49 PM

florida state, don't **** up

usnspecialist

01-12-2011, 10:27 PM

duke goes down

The Saint

01-12-2011, 10:32 PM

CU has beaten ranked opponents in 2 consecutive games.

eh000

01-13-2011, 12:17 PM

Also, I did not realize how bad Auburn is. Wow. They are the worse team from any of the big 6 conferences by far. They beat FSU aka FSU is not making the tournament.

Does this now mean that Duke isn't making the tournament either? :)

FIRE CHIEF

01-13-2011, 12:25 PM

Fredette reminds me of Mo Williams actually.

Georgetown might be done. That was an uninspiring performance last night. I lost a lot of money on them. Figured they would show up with some bad losses lately.

YRLegend

01-13-2011, 12:40 PM

Georgetown is baffling. They have arguably one of the best backcourts in the country with Wright, Freeman, and Clark. Wright was a solid handler and scorer last year. Freeman can light it up any night and is a terrific shooter, and Wright is a third option who is an excellent shooter in his own right. They have some size as well although nothing like the past couple years talent-wise. If they continue to lose at home, they really are done. They are looking like a 6 to 8 win Big East team right now.

FIRE CHIEF

01-13-2011, 05:38 PM

Will call 2 round of 32 teams from the Big Ten. I can't believe people thought this was the best conference in college basketball.

What??? This is why your posting fits your name. I can't even believe I'm replying to something this dumb. They'll get four or five teams past the first round easily.

Mr. Irrelevant

01-13-2011, 05:50 PM

What??? This is why your posting fits your name. I can't even believe I'm replying to something this dumb. They'll get four or five teams past the first round easily.

The Big Ten is overrated in every single sport. How does Penn State beat Illinois and Michigan State? I recall a post by you that said how awful IU, Iowa, and Penn State are. I agree 100%. Penn St. loses to Ole Miss, at home to Maryland by 23, and Maine by 10 at home. That team sucks. They are doing okay because the Big Ten sucks.

I can't believe Syracuse will not be number one and OSU will be. Andy Katz said it is because of their schedule. Haha yeah. IU, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan so far. Nice. Penn State and Iowa to follow. It's a joke. How anybody thinks the Big Ten is even close to the Big East is beyond me.

As for my statement, they may get 3. Only 6 will make the tournament: OSU, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Minnesota.

Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State are all overrated. None of those teams deserve to be ranked. 1 of these teams will win. Wisconsin always sucks in the tournament.

OSU is a lock to win. Purdue can get upset very easily by a 13 seed. Richmond shut them down earlier, and they are projected to miss the tournament according to the latest bracketology. Purdue will get exposed when they play a top 75 team. They are 1-1 against them.

So yeah, 2 or 3.

FIRE CHIEF

01-13-2011, 05:54 PM

Okay. Nobody said the Big Ten is the best conference.

I'd like to know when the last time the Big Ten had 2 or less teams after the first round. I bet if you did a little research you would see that it literally never happens. Maybe then you'll realize how dumb you sound. I don't know the answer to this question but off the top of my head I'd be surprised if it happens more than once ever ten years.

Mr. Irrelevant

01-13-2011, 06:13 PM

2010: 4 in the round of 32, 3 in the sweet 16, 1 in the elite 8, 1 final four
2009: 4, 2, 1, 1
2008: 3, 2, 0, 0
2007: 5, 1, 1, 1
2006: 3, 0, 0, 0
2005: 3, 3, 3, 2
2004: 2, 1, 0, 0
2003: 5, 2, 1, 0
2002: 4, 2, 1, 1
2001: 3, 2, 2, 1

So, 5 times they have gotten 2 or 3 and 5 times they have gotten 4 or 5.

I don't think suggesting 2 teams was that ridiculous.

FIRE CHIEF

01-13-2011, 06:25 PM

It's ridiculous enough to make me bet you $100 that they get 3 or more teams past the first round. And I doubt I'll be the only person who wants action on that.

MNpride

01-13-2011, 08:00 PM

about time minnesota got a nice in conference win

Mr. Irrelevant

01-13-2011, 08:19 PM

Purdue will get exposed when they play a top 75 team. They are 1-1 against them.

1-2

YRLegend

01-13-2011, 08:59 PM

1-2
Losing by 3 on the road at Minnesota really exposed them.

Dyenimator

01-13-2011, 11:54 PM

I also want action on the over for Big 10 teams.

MOOK

01-14-2011, 12:01 AM

If you give me 1.5-1 odds. I'll take the under on more than 3 teams advancing from the big 10 from the first round. If it's 3 teams, I win.

young money

01-14-2011, 10:55 AM

It's ridiculous enough to make me bet you $100 that they get 3 or more teams past the first round. And I doubt I'll be the only person who wants action on that.
i'll put my entire tax return on it.

i just think its hilarious that people are so willing to judge entire conferences only a few games into conference play. Mr. Irrelevant, what makes Syracuse so much more worthy than ohio state? Especially if you look at the possibility of making a run in the tournament. Cuse is built like ohio state except with worse players all around. Ohio State has a dominant big man and long guards who can shoot. You could take the 2 best players on Cuse and have them start playing HORSE right now, and they would still be trying to finish the game up in April. I heard Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph played lightning for 6 hours the other day because neither of them could hit a jumper to win.

FIRE CHIEF

01-14-2011, 12:26 PM

Diebler and Buford are really underrated for some reason.

Oregon's new court is a joke too. I literally can't even see the halfcourt line and the sidelines watching on TV. The NCAA shouldn't even have let them do it. It's like that dumb blue field. A farce.

Mr. Irrelevant

01-14-2011, 12:59 PM

Losing by 3 on the road at Minnesota really exposed them.

Minnesota is not good, though. I watched them play IU on the Big Ten Network and both teams looked awful. They won't win 20 games this year.

And Purdue has 0 top 50 wins. Beating bad teams does not make you good. The only other team who is decent who has 0 wins against the top 50 is Cleveland St. I'm telling you guys, Purdue is not that good. Worst depth out of any top 25 team easily.

Jajuan Johnson should win Big Ten Player of the Year, though. Without him, Purdue would be on IU's level. Moore is good, but not great. He tries too hard at times and is not that smart with the ball.

If you give me 1.5-1 odds. I'll take the under on more than 3 teams advancing from the big 10 from the first round. If it's 3 teams, I win.

This would be the bet I would take, except I would do it straight up. 4 teams will not make it. There is a possibility that 3 make it. 2 probably will.

i just think its hilarious that people are so willing to judge entire conferences only a few games into conference play. Mr. Irrelevant, what makes Syracuse so much more worthy than ohio state? Especially if you look at the possibility of making a run in the tournament. Cuse is built like ohio state except with worse players all around. Ohio State has a dominant big man and long guards who can shoot. You could take the 2 best players on Cuse and have them start playing HORSE right now, and they would still be trying to finish the game up in April. I heard Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph played lightning for 6 hours the other day because neither of them could hit a jumper to win.

OSU is good. Elite 8? Sure. Final 4? No way.

Syracuse is more worthy because they have played a harder schedule, have more quality wins, and play in the harder conference. In the tournament, Rick Jackson will be the most unstoppable player out there.

Cuse is 3rd in RPI, 4 top 50 wins, SoS is 44th
OSU is 7th, 2 top 50 wins, SoS is 72nd

young money

01-14-2011, 02:03 PM

not even going to argue. just going to el oh el repeatedly at rick jackson being the most unstoppable player in the country.

skurey

01-14-2011, 02:28 PM

Syracuse plays way better defense than Ohio State does.

But yeah Rick Jackson isn't that unstoppable. And we all know the Big East > Big Ten in basketball.

Dyenimator

01-14-2011, 03:56 PM

Cuse is 3rd in RPI, 4 top 50 wins, SoS is 44th
OSU is 7th, 2 top 50 wins, SoS is 72nd

tOSU is #1 on KENPOM

Swoosh13

01-14-2011, 05:35 PM

Minnesota is not good, though. I watched them play IU on the Big Ten Network and both teams looked awful. They won't win 20 games this year.

And Purdue has 0 top 50 wins. Beating bad teams does not make you good. The only other team who is decent who has 0 wins against the top 50 is Cleveland St. I'm telling you guys, Purdue is not that good. Worst depth out of any top 25 team easily.

Jajuan Johnson should win Big Ten Player of the Year, though. Without him, Purdue would be on IU's level. Moore is good, but not great. He tries too hard at times and is not that smart with the ball.

This would be the bet I would take, except I would do it straight up. 4 teams will not make it. There is a possibility that 3 make it. 2 probably will.

OSU is good. Elite 8? Sure. Final 4? No way.

Syracuse is more worthy because they have played a harder schedule, have more quality wins, and play in the harder conference. In the tournament, Rick Jackson will be the most unstoppable player out there.

Cuse is 3rd in RPI, 4 top 50 wins, SoS is 44th
OSU is 7th, 2 top 50 wins, SoS is 72nd

Not even worth arguing about. Purdue plays plenty of great teams before the season is over, that will sort things out. Your comments on Moore clearly show you haven't watched him much. You can draw conclusions from the last few games if you want, I think I'll go ahead and take the last few years

samfather

01-15-2011, 12:18 PM

did anyone just see the Louisville game? they were down 18 points with a little over 5 minutes to go and they came all the way back to win by a point. one of the best comebacks I've seen in a while.

therunner12

01-15-2011, 12:23 PM

Missouri is hitting everything right now. Hoping they cool off.

Edit: They did. I am confident that Reed Arena is one of the hardest places to play in the NCAA.

ElHollingsworth

01-15-2011, 08:34 PM

Michigan is really bad.

The white guy with the high socks and kneepads needs to knock it off.

Dyenimator

01-15-2011, 08:35 PM

yeah, we're playing awful...

3rd youngest team in d1, not concerned if they're struggling on the road in b10

ElHollingsworth

01-15-2011, 08:39 PM

yeah, we're playing awful...

It's cool. Some of the guys from our team came into my work and I realized how much more excited I'd be if it were someone elses team.

Conigs

01-15-2011, 10:05 PM

Dayton doesn't win in Cincinnati. 30 years running now.

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 10:58 AM

It's starting to get hard to not be excited about Duquesne's chances of winning the A10. We had a great schedule with Temple and Xavier at home. Got Temple easily yesterday. Now we just need to beat up on the bottom feeders over the next few weeks and find a way to beat Xavier.

What do you guys think of the Big East games tomorrow? Connecticut and Villanova are not really top 10 teams IMO. Both teams have a bunch of chucking guards. The difference to me is Villanova plays hard all the time. So I think they'll win. Pitt never loses big games at home. This is literally the first road test Syracuse will have. I'll say Pitt by 12 or more.

skurey

01-16-2011, 02:15 PM

Yeah Pitt always beats Syracuse and add to that they won't have Joseph and Pitt should win fairly comfortably.

skurey

01-16-2011, 02:40 PM

lol purdue

KenA55

01-16-2011, 03:35 PM

Yeah, Syracuse would be very fortunate to remain undefeated after Monday; tOSU should pick up their 1st loss Saturday in IL, who should be very hungry to defend home court this week against MIstate & OSU after two consecutive road losses. BYU should end SDSU's run in a week and a half in UT. I think the hardest of these 4 undefeateds to call the should-be endpoint of their streak is KU, but maybe Baylor can get it done at home Monday.

Dyenimator

01-16-2011, 04:19 PM

Odds of SDSU being a #1 seed?

therunner12

01-16-2011, 04:59 PM

Odds of SDSU being a #1 seed?

Are they legit? Haven't seen them play.

skurey

01-16-2011, 05:03 PM

Odds of SDSU being a #1 seed?

I'd say with 0-1 losses they may do it depending on how the other teams turn out. 2 or more and no way.

Conigs

01-16-2011, 05:05 PM

Are they legit? Haven't seen them play.

Not at all. They have a soft schedule and get the benefit of playing in an overrated conference. The one thing they have going for them is senior leadership to help not get their heads too big for the door. And they don't play a lick of defense.

therunner12

01-16-2011, 05:10 PM

Not at all. They have a soft schedule and get the benefit of playing in an overrated conference. The one thing they have going for them is senior leadership to help not get their heads too big for the door. And they don't play a lick of defense.

UNLV and BYU are legit top 25 teams. If they beat them then I'll think they are pretty good. They put away a pretty good UNM team pretty easily.

Conigs

01-16-2011, 05:20 PM

therunner12

01-16-2011, 05:25 PM

BYU is a legit top 25 team right. Around the 23 place. Not 10 or whatever they rose to last week.
UNLV is suspect. Occasionally some good wins, mostly erratic play.

And New Mexico... everyone was really high on them last year and they gained a 3 seed. Most overrated team in the tournament last year.
This year... not nearly as "good."

Read: much, much worse.

UNM was very overrated last year but they aren't terrible this year.

I don't understand how BYU got so high, I hope A&M leap frogs them this week, we deserve it.

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 10:58 PM

Well Cal won big tonight to set up the huge game with Arizona next week. Arizona is a top 15 team. No clue why they aren't even ranked yet. The computers like Ken Pomeroy or whatever love him. I finally went to his sight to see what his rankings look like. He also has UNLV ahead of SDSU which makes me happy. I think both are top 32 teams in the end though and nothing more.

The Saint

01-16-2011, 11:04 PM

Which is the ranking that is more recognized? AP or USA Today coach's poll?

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 11:09 PM

Which is the ranking that is more recognized? AP or USA Today coach's poll?

To me it's the coaches poll. But, if you look at the polls relative to the NCAA seeding in March they are pretty much irrelevant.

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 11:20 PM

the stogs

01-16-2011, 11:21 PM

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 11:24 PM

basically for cuse tomorrow fab needs to play like he did in the second half on saturday and the zone's gonna need to be completely airtight and get out on EVERY shooter. i see them losing but i think it would be as close as you can get to a "good loss" and they can get that loss out of the way without too much damage

They have to extend the zone early and often. Pitt's guards will tear you apart if you don't put a lot of ball pressure on them. They are solid shooters and passers. Their handling stinks. Syracuse's big problem will be that Pitt is pretty good at getting back in transition, even though they are also a good offensive rebounding team. This pitt team is as solid as any Dixon/Howland have had. Not championship material, but to beat them you'll have to really force their guards to make mistakes and limit second chance points. Not sure Syracuse can do either well enough.

the stogs

01-16-2011, 11:35 PM

They have to extend the zone early and often. Pitt's guards will tear you apart if you don't put a lot of ball pressure on them. They are solid shooters and passers. Their handling stinks. Syracuse's big problem will be that Pitt is pretty good at getting back in transition, even though they are also a good offensive rebounding team. This pitt team is as solid as any Dixon/Howland have had. Not championship material, but to beat them you'll have to really force their guards to make mistakes and limit second chance points. Not sure Syracuse can do either well enough.
i'm always confident in cuse's zone's ability to cause mistakes but the second chance points are gonna kill them

FIRE CHIEF

01-16-2011, 11:50 PM

i'm always confident in cuse's zone's ability to cause mistakes but the second chance points are gonna kill them

Probably. I still think at the end of the year these are the top two teams in the league. They'll have the best chance to make the final four. Though I don't think either is championship caliber and I'd put it at 50/50 if any Big East teams makes the final 4. They are very deep with top 20 teams. Not top 4 teams. West Virginia is getting on a nice little roll and they could end up going as far as anybody from the BE in March.

Conigs

01-17-2011, 08:37 AM

The SDSU question for a 1 seed is interesting. The only team I can compare them to would be St. Joe's back in 2004. They actually did get a 1 seed with 1 loss. But, many were very critical of it. In the end they lost to the 2 seed Oklahoma State in a close regional final so the critics were somewhat justified, though I don't think it was that bad of a seeding. I think New Mexico, BYU and UNLV going out early last year will hurt them. When St. Joe's was a 1 seed the A10 had a number of teams making sweet 16 and Elite 8 runs in the years leading up. I still think the A10 and MWC are similar leagues overall with the A10 having much more depth but the MWC being slightly more top heavy. Probably because they have 14 teams to 9.

Even the same year as St. Joe's run, the only team to beat them was Xavier in the A10 quarterfinal (we were like an 8 seed in conference), shooting around 70% for the game. Xavier went on to make an incredible run to the Elite 8 that year (as an 8 or 9 seed), to put 2 A10 teams in the Elite 8.

With the SDSU case, there is no league precedent of anyone going very far in the tournament. If SDSU gets a 1 seed, they are the type of team that could be the first one to get knocked out by a 16.

therunner12

01-17-2011, 12:10 PM

New rankings up.

There are some great games this week, the rankings will be very different next week.

skurey

01-17-2011, 12:14 PM

There are some great games today!

#7 Nova @ #8 UConn
#24 KSU @ #14 Mizzou
#3 SU @ #4 Pitt
#2 KU @ Baylor

therunner12

01-17-2011, 12:16 PM

There are some great games today!

#7 Nova @ #8 UConn
#24 KSU @ #14 Mizzou
#3 SU @ #4 Pitt
#2 KU @ Baylor

I'm picking Nova, Mizzou, Pitt, and Baylor.

At least that's what I'm hoping for since Baylor has been just awful this year. Who loses to Iowa State?

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 04:04 PM

Even the same year as St. Joe's run, the only team to beat them was Xavier in the A10 quarterfinal (we were like an 8 seed in conference), shooting around 70% for the game. Xavier went on to make an incredible run to the Elite 8 that year (as an 8 or 9 seed), to put 2 A10 teams in the Elite 8.

With the SDSU case, there is no league precedent of anyone going very far in the tournament. If SDSU gets a 1 seed, they are the type of team that could be the first one to get knocked out by a 16.

UNLV made the sweet 16 in 2007. That is the most recent run past the first weekend for the MWC if memory serves. If you want to go way back Utah made it to the championship game one year. But, they had Mike Doleac and Andre Miller who ended up being two long time NBA players. Not sure SDSU has that type of talent.

Xavier was an 8 seed in the A10 tournament and dismantled everybody in it in 2004. They made the elite 8 as a 7 seed upsetting I want to say Mississippi State and Texas before falling to top seed Duke. The A10 was very tough at that time and St. Joe's probably deserved the 1. I agree with you that SDSU doesn't deserve one no matter what, but to say they are at risk of losing to a 16 is dumb. They'll win a game if not two.

Right now my top 16 goes like this...

Ohio State
Duke
Kansas
Kentucky
Pitt
Texas
Washington
Syracuse
Arizona
West Virginia
Purdue
Texas A&M
Wisconsin
San Diego State
Missouri
Villanova

These aren't who I'd rank in these spots, but these are the 16 best teams I've seen so far.

murphxc04

01-17-2011, 05:26 PM

Great first game. My only sour grapes is that we had Stokes guarding Walker on the final possession after Fisher/Wayns had done a nice a job on him. Walker is a clutch player though, and he also got hacked on that play. Fisher single-handedly kept Nova in the game. Our lineup is thin and the offensive balance we showed against Louisville has disappeared.

Conigs

01-17-2011, 06:04 PM

Xavier was an 8 seed in the A10 tournament and dismantled everybody in it in 2004. They made the elite 8 as a 7 seed upsetting I want to say Mississippi State and Texas before falling to top seed Duke. The A10 was very tough at that time and St. Joe's probably deserved the 1. I agree with you that SDSU doesn't deserve one no matter what, but to say they are at risk of losing to a 16 is dumb. They'll win a game if not two.

Okay that's probably pretty fair.

I just watched "The Run" which was a 45 minute documentary about that 03-04 Xavier season. Started 10-9 and finished the year 26-11. Beat the 10 seed Louisville, winning the 2nd half by 23; 2 seed Mississippi State, and 3 seed Texas before bowing to Duke.

George Washington was also ranked as a top 10 team late in the year.

If these MWC teams can go deep into the next few tournaments then I think we'll see more precedent for a high ranking.

the stogs

01-17-2011, 06:48 PM

christ...

Eva N

01-17-2011, 06:50 PM

Hmm... I guess Pitt is a little tougher than Colgate, Cornell, etc...

the stogs

01-17-2011, 06:53 PM

Hmm... I guess Pitt is a little tougher than Colgate, Cornell, etc...
yeah and those are the only teams we've played obviously

skurey

01-17-2011, 07:06 PM

hahahaha I'm laughing

god both these teams suck

Eva N

01-17-2011, 08:23 PM

yeah and those are the only teams we've played obviously

Iona played Colgate? ;)

the stogs

01-17-2011, 08:26 PM

Iona played Colgate? ;)
nope

whowhat

01-17-2011, 08:33 PM

Clemson over unc tomorrow to end the worst losing streak of all-time

the stogs

01-17-2011, 08:42 PM

like i said, as close to a good loss as you can get. at one of the toughest places to play, without your best player, two freshman and an inexperienced soph getting a huge amount of minutes, plus the team was ranked right behind them, for all that means. a lot of positives did come out of the game tho. the way they fought back after a horrendous start and the fact that for the most part cj and dion played really well. if anything this improves the orange's depth and when kris comes back i think they'll take a good step towards being a more complete team

skurey

01-17-2011, 08:44 PM

oh well, tough place to play no shame losing. on to bigger and better things.

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 08:50 PM

Pitt proved tonight why they won't make it to the final four. They rely way too much on second chance points.

the stogs

01-17-2011, 08:51 PM

Pitt proved tonight why they won't make it to the final four. They rely way too much on second chance points.
not to mention allowing a team to score 17 unanswered. your thoughts on cuse?

skurey

01-17-2011, 08:53 PM

Same thing FC harped on last year, don't have guards to carry them in the tournament.

Scoop was ****ing terrible tonight.

the stogs

01-17-2011, 08:56 PM

Same thing FC harped on last year, don't have guards to carry them in the tournament.

Scoop was ****ing terrible tonight.
i found myself literally yelling at my computer because of him. they need someone to step up and he's takin fallaway 15 footers and lazy 25 foot guarded threes. wtf

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 08:57 PM

not to mention allowing a team to score 17 unanswered. your thoughts on cuse?

Well I say it every year but my thoughts haven't changed. I don't like teams that only play zone. It just limits you too much when you face a team that can figure it out and find some holes. Like Butler last year or Pitt tonight. Not to mention it makes it difficult to rebound and also when you miss a shot it's easy to run against a zone if you can beat them back into position. Basically when Syracuse goes deep it is because of superior NBA talent. They don't really have it this year so I put them borderline elite 8. Which is a great year, but right now they are a tad over ranked IMO. Things will work out in the next few months.

the stogs

01-17-2011, 09:02 PM

Well I say it every year but my thoughts haven't changed. I don't like teams that only play zone. It just limits you too much when you face a team that can figure it out and find some holes. Like Butler last year or Pitt tonight. Not to mention it makes it difficult to rebound and also when you miss a shot it's easy to run against a zone if you can beat them back into position. Basically when Syracuse goes deep it is because of superior NBA talent. They don't really have it this year so I put them borderline elite 8. Which is a great year, but right now they are a tad over ranked IMO. Things will work out in the next few months.
well that's the case for most big name teams. they have the nba talent and it carries them. and i know you're not a huge fan of the zone and perhaps i'm just a homer but there's zones, and then there's jim boeheim's zone. any coach or analyst or whoever will tell you it's a completely different animal. and while a team that figures it out (a la butler), can cause problems, the normally causes other teams so many problems that they dont even get a chance to put whatever plan they may have into effect. and to go back to butler, i'd say they lost to them more because of terrible offense and the lack of onuaku causing a pretty big hole in a team that wasnt deep at all to begin with, whereas this year's team goes 9-10 deep regularly

young money

01-17-2011, 09:32 PM

well that's the case for most big name teams. they have the nba talent and it carries them. and i know you're not a huge fan of the zone and perhaps i'm just a homer but there's zones, and then there's jim boeheim's zone. any coach or analyst or whoever will tell you it's a completely different animal. and while a team that figures it out (a la butler), can cause problems, the normally causes other teams so many problems that they dont even get a chance to put whatever plan they may have into effect. and to go back to butler, i'd say they lost to them more because of terrible offense and the lack of onuaku causing a pretty big hole in a team that wasnt deep at all to begin with, whereas this year's team goes 9-10 deep regularly
lol at there being zones and then boeheim's zone as if he's doing something revolutionary with it.

in any case, butler would have beaten Cuse last year even with Onuaku. Syracuse's offense was terrible that game because butler was phenomenal on defense and flat out had better perimeter players.

Also, Kansas State is one of my biggest frauds but they've been losing lately so they're dropping in rank quickly. I thought they were the single most overrated team last year and was shocked they managed to make it as far as they did.

USC is a sleeper team for me too.

skurey

01-17-2011, 09:35 PM

in any case, butler would have beaten Cuse last year even with Onuaku. Syracuse's offense was terrible that game because butler was phenomenal on defense and flat out had better perimeter players.

lol you're retarded

Butler had no one who would have been able to stop AO

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 09:37 PM

well that's the case for most big name teams. they have the nba talent and it carries them. and i know you're not a huge fan of the zone and perhaps i'm just a homer but there's zones, and then there's jim boeheim's zone. any coach or analyst or whoever will tell you it's a completely different animal. and while a team that figures it out (a la butler), can cause problems, the normally causes other teams so many problems that they dont even get a chance to put whatever plan they may have into effect. and to go back to butler, i'd say they lost to them more because of terrible offense and the lack of onuaku causing a pretty big hole in a team that wasnt deep at all to begin with, whereas this year's team goes 9-10 deep regularly

There is always a way to beat a zone. No matter how flawless it is. There isn't always a way to beat teams that play solid man.

Plus when you zone you expose yourself to good offensive rebounding teams. I like it as a change of pace, or when you have inferior athletes, or when the other team is street balling. But, I'll always be suspect of any team that relies on the zone as not just their primary defense, but their ONLY defense.

young money

01-17-2011, 09:59 PM

lol you're retarded

Butler had no one who would have been able to stop AO
yeah, it's called a phenomenal team defense. Butler did just fine against against every other team they played who had a big front line, and Onuaku was nothing more than a garbage man. Additionally, Onuaku doesn't do anything to stop Syracuse from having 18 turnovers as a team to Butler's only 7.

Also FC hit it on the head about playing zone, it's simply inferior coaching strategy to only play zone. A team that can execute on offense will get wide open shots.

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:04 PM

yeah, it's called a phenomenal team defense. Butler did just fine against against every other team they played who had a big front line, and Onuaku was nothing more than a garbage man. Additionally, Onuaku doesn't do anything to stop Syracuse from having 18 turnovers as a team to Butler's only 7.

Also FC hit it on the head about playing zone, it's simply inferior coaching strategy to only play zone. A team that can execute on offense will get wide open shots.

Onuaku doesn't drop the ball all the time like Jackson did that whole game

Can't believe I'm arguing a game that happened last year but Syracuse's defense was NOT the reason they lost. Butler shot 40%, 25% for 3 and were out rebounded by 6. Syracuse lost because yes Butler played phenomenal D which lead to Syracuse's turnovers and playing at Butler's pace.

Dyenimator

01-17-2011, 10:09 PM

I love the Cuse fans hype up their big men like none other. Uh, why aren't these guys showing up on any draft boards if they're so good?

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 10:10 PM

Onuaku doesn't drop the ball all the time like Jackson did that whole game

Can't believe I'm arguing a game that happened last year but Syracuse's defense was NOT the reason they lost. Butler shot 40%, 25% for 3 and were out rebounded by 6. Syracuse lost because yes Butler played phenomenal D which lead to Syracuse's turnovers and playing at Butler's pace.

Butler turned it over 7 times against the zone. That's why they won. It allowed them to control the pace.

You just don't know basketball if you think Syracuse wouldn't be better off playing man some of the time. It has been a stubborn thing that has literally cost Boeheim championships over his career.

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:10 PM

I love the Cuse fans hype up their big men like none other. Uh, why aren't these guys showing up on any draft boards if they're so good?

You gotta work on your trolling man.

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:12 PM

Butler turned it over 7 times against the zone. That's why they won. It allowed them to control the pace.

You just don't know basketball if you think Syracuse wouldn't be better off playing man some of the time. It has been a stubborn thing that has literally cost Boeheim championships over his career.

Funny story, I actually do wish they would mix it up every single season.

young money

01-17-2011, 10:13 PM

Onuaku doesn't drop the ball all the time like Jackson did that whole game

Can't believe I'm arguing a game that happened last year but Syracuse's defense was NOT the reason they lost. Butler shot 40%, 25% for 3 and were out rebounded by 6. Syracuse lost because yes Butler played phenomenal D which lead to Syracuse's turnovers and playing at Butler's pace.
what are you arguing about? I never said they lost because of the zone, stogs implied that and i corrected him that butler's defense won them that game, which you sort of seem to agree with.

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:14 PM

what are you arguing about? I never said they lost because of the zone, stogs implied that and i corrected him that butler's defense won them that game, which you sort of seem to agree with.

That part was more towards FC which I wanted to avoid because everyone would gang up acting like I'm declaring Syracuse the best team ever.

Dyenimator

01-17-2011, 10:20 PM

AO wasn't even drafted. I'm sure Butler was terrrrified of him.

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:22 PM

AO wasn't even drafted. I'm sure Butler was terrrrified of him.

Yeah because you have to be an NBA player and inspire fear in order to be a factor in a game.

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 10:22 PM

the stogs

01-17-2011, 10:25 PM

AO wasn't even drafted. I'm sure Butler was terrrrified of him.
he has no position in the nba, not big enough to be a center, not athletic enough to be a forward. but he was a very good college player

young money

01-17-2011, 10:30 PM

Dyenimator

01-17-2011, 10:31 PM

The point is you Cuse fans talk them up like they're stars, when they're borderline NBA talents.

the stogs

01-17-2011, 10:33 PM

The point is you Cuse fans talk them up like they're stars, when they're borderline NBA talents.
never said he was a star. but he was a big part of the team and without him cuse could only go 6 deep

skurey

01-17-2011, 10:33 PM

The point is you Cuse fans talk them up like they're stars, when they're borderline NBA talents.

The point is you have no reading comprehension, when you're borderline retard.

FIRE CHIEF

01-17-2011, 10:38 PM

UK has a lot of potential. Knight and Jones are the type of freshman that can step up huge during do or die time at the end of the year. They both also have great scoring instincts. Lamb is a real nice all around 2 guard as well. They've got the pieces make a run, I just wanna see how Terrence Jones plays during SEC play. He sort of reminds me of Carmelo, except he sometimes forces the issue too much when the defense is keying on him.

I have only seen them play a few times but they have legit excuses for two of their three losses. Kemba Walker just went off and blitzed them in Maui. And Georgia shot a zillion free throws against them in the SEC opener. I'm going to bet a ton of money on Kentucky when they rematch next month.

Jones is interesting. I think it depends on how much freedom Cal gives him with the ball. He'll kill them eventually if they don't check his opportunities IMO. Knight and Lamb and Liggins are who the offense should run through.

Dyenimator

01-17-2011, 11:00 PM

Syracuse is more worthy because they have played a harder schedule, have more quality wins, and play in the harder conference. In the tournament, Rick Jackson will be the most unstoppable player out there.

Reading is hard.

young money

01-17-2011, 11:27 PM

The point is you have no reading comprehension, when you're borderline retard.
you're the one claiming Cuse would have beat Butler because the Bulldogs wouldn't have been able to find a way to stop 10 and 5 big man ONUAKU RAWR.

Eva N

01-18-2011, 09:37 PM

Michigan may have fired the wrong ex-West Virginia coach.

Dyenimator

01-18-2011, 09:53 PM

Pretty pathetic performance but when you have the youngest team of all BCS schools I don't know if you can expect much on the road.

ElHollingsworth

01-20-2011, 03:28 AM

I want some Kentucky talk. Can't believe nobody called me out for having them as a top 4 team. I think while this year's freshman class is slightly less talented, it is much more well rounded. Plus Harrelsson gives them a garbage man and a hard worker that they did not have at all. I also think the guards are slightly more consistent shooters.

i agree. last year had more talent, but this team is definitely more rounded. knight can actually run a half court offense, and now they actually have some guys who can shoot.

this years class is going to be overlooked by last years class and next years though.

FIRE CHIEF

01-20-2011, 05:01 PM

Anybody like Arizona to upset Washington tonight? I don't think they will, but it should be a close game. Both teams are very underrated IMO.

FIRE CHIEF

01-20-2011, 11:06 PM

45-44 Washington in the 2nd half. This is a pretty good game. Arizona has actually played better but they have missed a lot of open shots. If they can keep their composure they will win. But, I have my doubts. That's a young team.

FIRE CHIEF

01-20-2011, 11:14 PM

And as I figured Arizona is done. They are just taking waaaaaaaay too many fouls.

If Washington were to make the final four I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. This is Romar's best team ever. They actually don't mind defending hard for 35 seconds. That was always the weakness when they had Nate Robinson, Brockman, Brandon Roy and those other great players.

murphxc04

01-21-2011, 02:43 PM

Off to Syracuse. This should be fun...

FIRE CHIEF

01-21-2011, 04:40 PM

I like Syracuse a lot in that game. The Nova guards will get chuck happy and they aren't good enough shooters to take advantage of the zone.

KenA55

01-22-2011, 09:03 AM

Today's your day Illinois, get it done!

skurey

01-22-2011, 12:16 PM

Syracuse is awful. Haven't beaten anyone. Can't even win at home.

**** the Saturday noon games.

TeamOrange

01-22-2011, 01:51 PM

I like Syracuse a lot in that game. The Nova guards will get chuck happy and they aren't good enough shooters to take advantage of the zone.

11-24 3pt shooting

Syracuse is awful. Haven't beaten anyone. Can't even win at home.

**** the Saturday noon games.

Yeah, the Pitt game was painful cause of the first 5 mins and this game compounded that.

boltoncct&f

01-22-2011, 09:02 PM

Yes I know I root for a team in what everyone calls a "mid major conference" but FINALLY ESPN sets the record straight. C-USA is #3 in conference RPI behind Big East and Big Ten. During the Memphis/UAB game (76-73 Memphis in OT) they AND Gene Barto said if 3-4 teams from C-USA don't make it to the big dance, this year, there is problems with the selection process.

Go Tigers

Minus Kendrick, Garcia, and Witherspoon:(

FIRE CHIEF

01-23-2011, 01:07 AM

I didn't see much today because I went to the Duquesne game then went out until now. But all I'll say is Ohio State has been impressive. The win at Illinois was one I was worried about. Craft is stepping up to fill his roll and they are a legit championship contender. With Diebler and Buford lighting it up from downtown they will be touigh to beat.

Kansas losing is a little bit surprising but not shocking. Texas is a soild top 8 team. They play a lot harder than they have in a few years.

The RPI is dumb when you start looking at effiency ratings. BUT if the comittee wants to take the most deserving teams and not the best teams it isn't that dumb. Duquesne falls right into that mess. They are very deserving but they have no good wins. The computers love them tohough so who knows. I think if we win 13 A10 games we will make it regardless but at 5-0 that's a long way off.