College Hoops Thread '10-'11

[The Poet]

Will comment shortly, but since my Heels just scored the last 5 points to send their game with Clemson into OT I'm a bit busy at the moment.

[rebelknight]

Ohio State is wrapping things up nicely today after yesterdays scare. Penn St Michigan St has a little bit of hope to be interesting after Penn St beat Wisconsin off of 36 points but realistically if MSU plays like they did yesterday and PSU shoots like they did yesterday this game will just be embarressing. Big 12 final and Big East final should be fun. Can Kemba make it 5 games in 5 days? And do who does UNC play in the ACC final? So far its been a great weekend of basketball looking forward to tomorrows games and the selection show

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by rebelknight

And do who does UNC play in the ACC final?

Well, first my Heels had to take care of Clemson in OT, 92-87, and will face the winner of the upcoming Duke/Virginia Tech game. UNC came from behind again to force the OT, built a nice lead early in the extra session, then made enough key plays and FTs to hold on for the win. Man, am I exhausted! BTW, the much-maligned freshman Harrison Barnes only scored 40 of those 92 points.

[The Poet]

Big games from last night:


Arizona 67 - USC 62 = Does this end the Trojan hopes for a bid?

Bucknell 72 - Lafayette 57 = The Patriot automatic to Bucknell.

BYU 87 - New Mexico 76 = Aside from revenge, and maybe sealing BYU's 2-seed, this could keep the Lobos out.

Duke 87 - Maryland 71 = And this could keep the Terps out too. Also, since Nolan Smith hurt his toe late in this game, it could also mean problems for Dook.

Virginia Tech - Florida State 51 = I really don't see how the Committee can keep the Hokies out now.

Menphis 76 - East Carolina 56 = For those holding their breath waiting to see if they get an at-large, this helps by taking one joker out of the deck.

Louisville 83 - Notre Dame 77 (OT) = It might move the Cards up a notch in the seedings, and might not cost the Irish their 1-seed.

Michigan State 74 - Purdue 56 = If there was any doubt before about the Spartans dancing, this removes it.

U. Conn 76 - Syracuse 71 (OT) = Kemba Walker makes it 4 in a row. Can he make it 5 against Pitino's boys?

San Diego State 74 - UNLV 72 = This likely seals a 2-seed for the Aztecs.

Texas 70 - Texas A&M 58 = And this keeps the Longhorns in the hunt too, while moving A&M down a notch.

Penn State 36 - Wisconsin 33 = Yes that is not a misprint, and not a football score either. Are the Lions playing themselves into an at-large? Ehhhhhhhh, I dunno.

St. Mary's 77 - Weber State 54 = And does this "extra" game help the Gaels, or have they already played themselves out of a bid? I'm leaning towards the latter.


Today we have a ton of automatics on the line, with some already over:


Boston U. 56 - Stony Brook 54 = Hey, maybe that's what you meant above, Joe! Sorry, but I've been a bit distracted by what's happening down in Greensboro. BU takes the American East.

Memphis 67 - UTEP 66 = And the Tigers take the CUSA. Now we'll have to wait and see how many at-large bids the Big Mouth Conference leaves for the rest of us.

Hampton 60 - Morgan State 55 = Hampton takes the MEAC automatic.

Harvard vs. Princeton = This Ivy one-game playoff just tipped off at Yale's neutral court.

McNeese State vs. UT San Antonio = This will give us the Southland automatic.

Akron vs. Kent State = And this is the MAC championship.

Long Beach State vs. UC Santa Barbara = The Big West automatic here.

Alabama State vs. Grambling = And the Southwestern Athletic one here.


Other big scores and games include:


Kentucky 72 - Alabama 58 = As noted, the Wildcats don't always have to be in Rupp to win. Maybe the Tide did enough so far to earn an at-large, but if this score is any indication they won't Dance for long.

Ohio State 68 - Michigan 61 = But maybe the Wolverines can win a game or two more this season. As for the Buckeyes, they have done what they needed to do, but have NOT played as well as they did last week.

Duke vs. Virginia Tech = If the Blue Devils want to keep hopes of stealing a 1-seed, and of getting a rematch with the Tar Heels, they have to put the Hokies down. So far so good, as they've gotten a slim lead midway through the 1st half.

Michigan State vs. Penn State = Since I think Izzo's team has already sealed an at-large, this one is much more important for the Nittany Lions. As I type, they are down 6 points, but it is very early.

Texas vs. Kansas = The Jayhawks have their 1-seed already, but want some revenge against the 'Horns. UT is in the running for a 2-seed, and this would help them a lot. This should be fun.

San Diego State vs. BYU = Here are two more looking for 2-seeds, but with about 6 other squads fighting for the same this could be key. The Aztecs haven't been able to beat the Cougars yet. However, it isn't easy to beat a good team 3 times in the same campaign. This could be another barn-burner.


There are other good games out there, but I've run outta time, and energy. Besides, in about 26 hours it will all be academic anyway, so who cares? See you Monday. Until then, enjoy. Screw Drew.

[jcruse64]

A REALLY good game going between Arizona and Washington, with 6 and change left to go. Rooting for Washington, they're a scrappy team! And the 2nd coming of Isaiah Thomas????

[jcruse64]

Holy Smokes, whatta finish, as Washington beats the "other" Cats to win the PAC-10 tourney in overtime on a last second shot!!!!

One of the best games of the conferences' post season, so far.

Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jcruse64]

Not a close game at all, at least in the 2nd, but SDSU finally breaks BYU's mojo and beats them by 18 for the Mountain West championship. Poet was right, it tough to beat a team 3 times in a row.

[jcruse64]

5 wins in 5 days, UCONN beats UL. Very good game also. Feel bad for the UL kid who missed freebie #2, then hit freebie #3. Still, they had a good look for the tie, it just didn't make it. I really thought UCONN's legs would be gone for this game, even though these are kids. Walker looked good again.

[The Poet]

Right on ALL points above, Joe. As for the seedings, there are a few I don't understand myself, as there always are, but I've never put much importance in those anyway. No matter where you're seeded, who you're playing, or where, you STILL have to win the games eventually, so what's the big diff?

This looks to be a wide-open Tourney, with at least a dozen teams having a legitimate shot, with maybe another dozen dark horses to boot. So at this point I have only one "lock" of a prediction: The Big Mouth Conference will set a new NCAA record by recording the largest number of losses in tournament history.

[The Poet]

I considered doing an update today on the weekend games and conference tourneys, but decided that everyone who has cared all year already know what's what anyway, so what's the point? And as for you guys who only start paying attention to college hoops around St. Patrick's Day, and view that "holiday" and March Madness in much the same light . . . an excuse for you to skip work and drink beer . . . then I shall be willing to reply to any questions or comments you may have (to the best of my ability), but otherwise I'll wait until the play-in games tomorrow for a post.

[The Poet]

A bit of housecleaning news before I give the games. Yesterday Jeff Capel was fired as coach of Oklahoma after posting his 2nd losing season in a row. OK, fine, I get that. But those seasons followed two where he took a Sooner team to a pair of consecutive NCAA appearances despite handcuffed by NCAA restrictions inherited from Kelvin Sampson. It also followed two seasons of bonuses and paybumbs for Capel, as well as a contract extension. Yes, there were some more problems with shady players and assistant coaches, and the potential of further sanctions looming for OU, and it is only fair that the head coach takes the heat for this. But for a school's administration to expect a coach . . . ANY COACH . . . to rebuild a program without a few bumps in the road is totally unreasonable. And this is from a Tar Heel, defending a Dook puke too!

Also, Sidney Lowe has resigned from the head coaching job at N. C. State. If you've been paying any attention the last two years, this comes as no surprise . . . unless it is because he quit before he was canned. This Wolfpack alum who was a member of their improbable national championship team in 1983 (yes, that clip with Jimmy V running around the court looking for somebody to hug) never seemed to be able to get his alma mater back on track during his 5-year tenure, going 86-78 overall but just 25-55 in ACC play. To add insult to injury, he was 7-33 in ACC road games, losing 13 of 16 to Duke and UNC. There are a LOT of things a Wolfpack fan will forgive (lifting aspirins from a drugstore, mugging a pizza delivery kid on campus, breaking into a classmate's dorm room to steal his stereo, or putting more time into writing cookbooks or making analyst appearances on CBS than to watching out for the young players under your charge), but losing to the other 2 legs of The Triangle? No way.

Play begins tonight in both the NCAAs, with the "play-in" games, and in the first round of the NIT. It also begins in the CBI and the CIT Tournaments, but this will be the first and last time I mentioned these "also-rans" tourneys, unless YOUR team is in one of them, and YOU bring up the subject. So, for the two tournaments which, to me, have some meaning, we have these in the NCAAs tonight:


UNC Asheville vs. AR Little Rock = Fans of these two may feel slighted that they need to play this game in order to advance to the "real" brackets, but I look at it much differently. This may be their best, or their ONLY, chance to ever win an NCAA game, so they should relish the opportunity. I really don't know much about either team, but I'll go with UNC-A here, and not just because they are from my home state. I seem to recall they beat Charleston, and this means a lot in my book.

Clemson vs. UAB = But here we have two pretty good teams . . . so good, in fact, that I really don't understand why they are forced to "play in" to the Tourney. Are you really telling me that a Hampton, a Northern Colorado, a Wofford, or an Akron are better than these two? Yeah, I know these extra games are for the "at-large" crowd, but let's have a little common sense here too.


In the NIT, on the home courts of the higher-ranked teams, we have:


Coastal Carolina vs. Alabama = Many of the Tide fans feel they got hosed by not getting a bid to the NCAAs. If you've been reading this thread, you saw I predicted as much weeks ago. Yeah, they beat a Georgia team that did make the field of 68 (though some question why), but their SoS and RPI was hideous. If you don't play good competition, you cannot possible score points with the Committee.

Vermont vs. Cleveland State = This should be a pretty decent game between well-matched squads.

Dayton vs. Charleston = As should this one, with CoC trying to redeem their late-season collapse by knocking the Flyers out of what has become their own personal tournament.

Harvard vs. Oklahoma State = Oak State has the bodies, and the Crimson have the brains. For that alone this will be interesting.

Murray State vs. Missouri State = And here are two good mid-majors which fell juuuuust short of making The Dance. Both feel like they have something to prove, and I expect a war. And what do YOU think, Joe?

Fairfield vs. Colorado State = I know the Stags had a decent season, and can only assume that CSU did also. Other than that, I hold no opinion.

UTEP vs. New Mexico = Here are two more teams that had to be in the discussion for at-large bids to the NCAAs, so I hope for a very good game.

Boston College vs. McNeese State = BC was also one of those bubble teams who did not make the cut, and may feel disrespected for it. Well, let's see them make their case by whuppin' up on McNeese tonight.

Kent State vs. St. Mary's = And though Kent State had no shot at an at-large, St. Mary's certainly did. In fact, had they not stumbled down the stretch, they may have joined Gonzaga in The Dance. Much like the BC game above, they need to step up tonight in order to prove their point.

[The Poet]

Goddammit, once again I got all the way to the last line of a hour-long post, and the damn thing disappeared on me! And I did nothing wrong, I know! I had to pee like a mule, so went to relieve myself, and when I came back . . . POOF! My post was blank. It's not me, it's this site. I am NOT happy.


I quit. I'm not gonna retype all that crap. Tomorrow The Dance starts. Maybe I'll be back, maybe I won't.

[NCRadioMan]

There is a set time-out, I think. An easy way to prevent that is to hit "preview post" every once in a while.

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

There is a set time-out, I think. An easy way to prevent that is to hit "preview post" every once in a while.

Yeah, I've done that often, but this time I forgot to "back up" my work.


That's OK . . . aside from the fact that I don't know jack on the subject, nobody much cares about college basketball anyway, especially in March.

[The Poet]

I have been a bit lax in updating this lately, with my sole excuse (aside from laziness) being that I've been a bit busy actually following the games as opposed to blogging about them. But I take a quick break from that to report our first Cinderalla upset of the tournament:


Morehead State 62 - Louisville 61 = The 13-seed knocks Pitino's 4th-seeded boys out of The Dance before they even get to the band's first break. MSU jumped on them early, then hung tough down the stretch. So the Big East gets the first of what shall be a record number of NCAA losses.

[The Poet]

Kentucky gets a layup with 2 seconds left to escape an upset by Princeton 59-57.

Butler gets a tip-in by Howard at the buzzer to survive against ODU 60-58.

Pitt is starting to push well ahead of UNC-Asheville with 8 minutes left.

[BigAsh]

HOOOOOOT!...Temple wins (as I expected) but a close game...The Owls have been playing without 2 starters for a month now and have been holding their own....though Scootie did play 6 minutes today with extra padding over the fracture site on his foot

[The Poet]

Oh, and Temple hits an 18-footer in the last second to oust Penn State 66-64, so "one-and-Dunphy" gets his first NCAA victory.

[The Poet]

Pitt rolls, and San Diego State rolling.

Richmond and Vanderbilt look to be going down to the wire.

[SD Beerman]

Originally Posted by The Poet

Pitt rolls, and San Diego State rolling.

Richmond and Vanderbilt look to be going down to the wire.

Big sigh of relief to get our first win...looking forward to Saturday....