College Hoops Thread 2011-2012

[The Poet]

Here's some of the best games from last night:


Murray State 66 - Morehead State 60 = As Joe said, his Racers needed to come from 'way back to keep their season unblemished. I thought they'd have a little easier time of it, but I did realize how tricky road games can be against a long-standing rival.

Temple 76 - LaSalle 70 = Such as these two rivals, and about what you'd expect.

Cincinnati 70 - U. Conn 67 = If there is a surprise for the evening, it's maybe this one, even if only for the fact that it was in Storrs. Yeah, the Bearcats have played well on occasion, and the Huskies have had some problems. Still, I'd not have bet on this one.

Nebraska 70 - Indiana 69 = Nor this one, to be frank. True, I thought the Hoosiers had just about shot their bolt for now. But again, I figured they could handle the Cornhuskers. Shows what I know.

UCF 68 - Memphis 67 = And this was, as I felt it would be, a war.

Wichita State 71 - Northern Iowa 68 = Here also.

Creighton 66 - Missouri State 65 = Also also.

Kansas State 84 - Texas 80 = To be frank, the Longhorns came closer to giving Martin that stroke than I thought. Rememeber, lest I am mistaken, this was in Manhattan and not Austin.

San Diego State 75 - New Mexico 70 = Here's about exactly what I figured on, with the Lobos giving the Aztecs more fits than they wanted.


Tonight's action includes a lot of "who cares?" games, plus these:


Charleston vs. Davidson = Two good teams who need to either win their conference or make a lot of noise elsewhere to earn a bid, so it's big for both.

Duke vs. Wake Forest = I have to go with a wake tonight in Durham, for the Deacons. If the Blue Devils don't slaughter them, Coach K should retire.

Vanderbilt vs. Alabama = These two have p!$$ed away a lot of the respect they had early in the year, yet neither one is totally dead yet . . . like maybe Pitt. Should be fun.

Virginia vs. Georgia Tech = As with my prior comments saying schools such as Indiana and Michigan State had maybe shot their bolt already, the same may be true of the Cavaliers. If they lose to the Yellow Jackets it may be one further indication of that . . . and no, I don't care that it's in Hot'Lanta.

Boston College vs. N. C. State = And Jerry's 'Pack needs to jump on the Eagles here, if they want to stay at least mid-pack in the ACC.

Illinois vs. Penn State = I can't give the Nittany Lions much of a chance against the Illini, even in State College. However, you may remember that last year about this time PSU went on a bit of a run to win some they maybe shouldn't have. Hey, it's conference play, so who knows?

North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech = Speaking of who knows, who knows how the Heels will react in Blacksburg to that embarrassing performance (or lack of same, more accurately) against FSU. If Roy got their attention in practice this week, it could be bad news for the Hokies. If he didn't, and they put up another stinker, maybe he'll just throw in the towel for good.

UCLA vs. Oregon State = I've not mentioned the Bruins much of late, mainly due of course to their poor start. But if you haven't noticed, after losing 5 of their first 7 games, they've only lost twice since then, and that @ both Stanford and California, so they weren't the "bad" losses they posted earlier. Have they turned things around? Certainly, to some extent. This game won't tell us if this turn-around's for real or not, but maybe we should all start keeping an eye on Westwood once again. Oh, wait . . . we can't. They're not playing in Pauley this year, so even their home games are on the road.


That's it for me for now. Thanks for all your cards and letters, and keep 'em coming boys. Until later, enjoy.

[jcruse64]

Some really tough, close games last night. I thought Texas "might" come down with the win, but just couldn't. Also thought IU would come up with a win. I thought the Bearcats might pull that one off; I do not have any confidence in UConn, but I thought the same last year. Shows what I know.

Managed to get tickets for the rest of Murray's home games yesterday. The wife wants to hit the OVC tourney again this year; it's always a lot of fun, win or lose. She swears we are going to the Dance if Murray makes it this year. I had the opportunity to go the year MSU beat Valvano's team in round 1 and were narrowly beaten by Danny Manning's KU, but just could not afford it and eat too. Maybe this time...I still think we must win the OVC tourney to get in. One loss anywhere, in the OVC means no at-large, and they would likely drop out of the top 35 with a loss.

Dook is handling Wake pretty well, midway through H2. Vandy also handling Bama easily on the road.

Hey Poet, where did Mark Gottfried end up? I heard he is coaching again.

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by jcruse64

I had the opportunity to go the year MSU beat Valvano's team in round 1.

Hey Poet, where did Mark Gottfried end up? I heard he is coaching again.

Unknowingly, you sorta answered your own question there brother. Gottfried is midway through his first year as head coach of Jerry's N.C. State Wolfpack, and is doing fairly well so far. He may do even better next year and thereafter, as he's supposedly landed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation for 2012-13.

Update shortly.