College Basketball Thread

“Have you noticed more and more teams going to the zone? Seems like Syracuse might have started a trend after winning the championship.”

“Now, what happened in '88?"
Dunadan
01:12:26 PM
02/09/04
Hmm, I think Kansas won one of its few basketball championships. 16 years apart sounds a lot worse than 6!
Not that we'll have any real shot if we keep taking games to the wire like this. Sooner or later that will come back to bite us in the butt.”

“By the way, Sticman, what state is Adolph Rupp from? Any wild guesses? Could it be the same state that Dean Smith is from? Gene Keady? I could go on and on.”

“Uhm,,,,,,,Idaho?”

“Chili, come on down and claim your prize!”

“The Stanford/Arizona game defines why college basketball is my favorite sport to watch. So many times a game will come down to the final possession, leaving the spectators on the edge of their seat. That 35-footer may mean the Cardinal are destined to go undefeated.

The Fighting Illini secured a couple of road wins in the past week over Indiana and Minnesota. With Wisconsin losing at Northwestern on Saturday, a win by Illinois at home vs. Michigan State tomorrow will put the Illini in a favorable position in the Big 10 race.”

“Final game of the NCAA tournament, 2004. Stanford Cardinal is still undefeated.
Kansas Jayhawks win by twenty points!!!!!”

“Notice to all Kentucky fans. The Mildcats did not appear in the above scenario.”

“I fully expect Kansas and Illinois to be in the same regional (assuming neither team has a meltdown and fails to make the cut). Heck, UNC and SIU might be there also, but that would be too obvious.”

“I stand corrected. I pretty much guaranteed that my boys down at Stanford would lose at home to AZ - heck, it had become a tradition of sorts! Were they lucky? Of course! You have to figure there's going to be some luck involved winning 20 games in a row. Will they go undefeated? No. They'll lose to Cal on Saturday, someone else before the end of the regular season, and/or someone in the conference tourney. Any or all of those would be good for them going into the NCAAs - there's too much pressure being undefeated; much better to have lost a game or two or three....”

“Hub. I don't know if I want Kansas to meet up with Illinois and UNC or not. Could be some great basketball. However, I DO want to see the Fighting Illini meet up with the Salukis. Weber could lose his job over that one.”

“I fully agree that they are better off with a couple of losses going into the tourney. I give them a 50/50 chance of finishing the regular season undefeated.”

“Record Pts Pvs
1. Duke (43) 20-1 1,765 1
2. Stanford (27) 20-0 1,753 2
3. Saint Joseph's (2) 20-0 1,659 3
4. Pittsburgh 22-1 1,502 4
5. Connecticut 19-3 1,499 5
6. Mississippi St. 19-1 1,405 7
7. Gonzaga 19-2 1,392 8
8. Kentucky 16-3 1,281 9
9. Louisville 17-3 1,189 6
10. Oklahoma St. 17-2 1,166 13
11. Texas 16-3 1,156 11
12. Kansas 15-4 879 20
13. Cincinnati 16-3 846 10
14. North Carolina 14-6 723 17
15. Georgia Tech 17-5 705 15
16. Arizona 14-6 667 12
17. Wisconsin 15-4 646 14
18. Texas Tech 17-5 415 19
19. Utah St. 19-1 349 24
20. Wake Forest 13-6 333 16
21. N.C. State 14-5 327 -
22. Florida 14-6 294 21
23. S. Illinois 18-2 219 -
24. Providence 15-5 215 23
25. South Carolina 19-4 200 25
Others receiving votes: Syracuse 187, Memphis 71, Air Force 62, Seton Hall 55, Dayton 54, Oklahoma 46, Michigan St. 42, LSU 41, Florida St. 40, Illinois 40, Charlotte 39, W. Michigan 33, Vanderbilt 24, Hawaii 23, Marquette 14, Maryland 14, Kent St. 12,
UTEP 7, Creighton 5, Boston U. 4, Vermont 2.


discuss”

“Florida is still in the top 25?
Would you say that the Pac 10 doesn't get the respect it deserves, seeing as how Stanford has one less loss than Puke?
Kansas will have the test of the season at Oklahoma State tonight.”

“Florida still being ranked is a joke. UNC moving up three spots after losing at home is flawed. Wake Forest should not be ranked.

Actually, I think the Pac 10 is pathetically weak this year. For that reason, I will not contest Duke's ranking over Stanford. Arizona's conference record (6-5) does not justify their ranking.

Congratulations Salukis!”

“Memphis keep chisling away.

Discuss???


Well, when tourney time comes (both conference and big dance); the poll becomes meaningless after the tops seeds are bracketed.”

“Those chiseling Tigers and their coach, Calimari, that's what I have to say.”

“Just think about the team we would have if our last three number one recruits didn't bolt for the NBA.

One after his first year and two that never step foot on campus.”

“Pac-10 is weak this year, although a couple of Stanford's wins were over pretty good teams (Kansas, Gonzaga), neither of which was on their home court (both neutral sites). That said, I think it's really really difficult to go undefeated in college basketball, no matter which conference you're in, so both Stanford and St. Joe's deserve those high rankings, and if they can keep it going, maybe deserve to pass Duke, I don't know....”

“Hey Dun, did I ever tell you about my brother-in-law's brother? They're all from Kansas. He was offered a scholarship to KU but turned it down for some reason. Had he accepted it, he would have been on the '88 champ. team.”

“My mom just called me and told me that my brother and his friend won a basketball shooting contest at school (West Virginia University). Wednesday WVU takes on St Johns at the Coliseum. At halftime my brother and his friend will take on the best shooters on the WVU team on TV. The winners recieve an all expense paid trip to New York.”

“Oklahoma State, led by coach Eddie Sutton, who hails from Bucklin, Kansas, mashes the Kansas Jayhawks into a barely discernable glob of blue putty.”

“March madness is just around the corner, folks.”

“OK State looked impressive in that victory!”

“The DAWGS are moving up!
After tomorrow's win, they should crack the top 5!
Thank God football is over!”

“I feel a little better after Seton Hall beat #4 Pittsburgh last night. The Big East is a tight conference and is going to be phenomenal with the addition of Marquette, Louisville, Cincinnati and DePaul next year.

Sorry about your Jayhawks Dun.”

“So... we're saying that Stanford's win over Kansas was not all that special?? ;-)”

“Wow, both UConn and Pitt drop games in conference. Seton Hall may have a shot at the top 25 next week. What is Pitt's RPI anyway? I can only think of 1 or 2 quality wins that they have had - Syracuse (who isn't a powerhouse) and maybe Florida State. It will be interesting to see if the Big East can get a #1 seed.

Oklahoma State looks to be a very good team.”

“I want to see Stanford play Duke.”

“Last meeting: 12/21/00; Stanford 84, Duke 83.”

“Yes, I would very much like to see that match up.”

“It may be March Madness for you people but here in The Natural State it's March Sadness.”

“Bama still has a #1 RPI strength of schedule rating and tonights ESPN game against Kentucky will strenthen that further. Bama needs to get a 7-9 record at worst to get in the tourney. That's going to be tough to do with 2 games left against MSU.”

“Aaaarrrrrggghhh!”

“Sorry. Rutgers just lost a close one at Syracuse.

#&%!$ #&%!$ #&%!$”

“Beat the Buffs tonight at home. Maybe this can get us going. Probably won't be in the big dance. What a disappointing season. Although we might just beat the Hawks at home, last game of season. Comments Dunaden?”

“Tough loss Violin. Syracuse is beatable, and I though Rutgers had them.

UNC (14-7) lost again. Anybody think they should remain ranked? Then again, they did beat Illinois in North Carolina. ;-)

On a brighter note, the Illini again dominated Michigan State at home tonight. Illinois has a week off then takes on Wisconsin at home for some payback time.”

“Yo, Bowlder, I don't know how much stock I would put in Stanford's win over the Jayhawks. Depends on whether Stanford beat the Jekkyl or Hyde team. I do think the Cardinal plays a good brand of ball. They have a young man named Childress that was almost signed up with Kansas.
Sorry to hear about Rutgers, Violin.
Unless I'm completely wrong, the tournament is going to be as crazy as ever.
Dodder. I don't quite know why Missou can't keep their wagon rolling. My guess is that there is sanctions about to come down, and the players know it. What do you think? BTW, the Tigers could pull it off against the Jayhawks in Columbia because records mean nothing in this rivalry.”

“Stick. Did you watch the Alabama game? You guys gonna go far in the tourney this year?”

“Hey Dun, if I'm not mistaken, that win over Kansas came while Childress was on the bench, recovering from injury. In fact, the Cardinal have had their share of injuries this year - the guy who sank the buzzer-beater over AZ was 3rd string until 2 weeks ago! I'm wondering how good they can be if everybody gets healthy....”

“I know, I know, Bowlder. That's why I don't know how tough Kansas was in that particular game.
Come tournament time, Stanford is going to be the first #1 seed to go out in the first round to................Valparaiso.”

“Don't say that, Dun! Ever since losing to Siena as a #3 seed several years ago, Stanford fans hate getting a high seed in the tourney! Not only that, the women's team was the first #1 seed to ever lose in the first round (vs. Harvard, some years back), although, in their defense, they had sustained season/career-ending injuries to their two top players in the week preceding that game.”

“Beleive me, I'm spooked this season, too. Every time the Jayhawks put on their uniforms, it can become very scary.”

“Whats scary is the talent and the bench that Uconn has.

If they can keep their poise, I think they are unbeatable and can easily win seven in a row”

“UConn is very talented, but they are a very poor free throw shooting team, and that is the kind of stuff that gets exposed in the dance. Unless they turn that around, I don't see any way that they will be the last team standing.”

“The Cats still don't seem to dominate anyone, so I see them doing horribly in the tournament, probably struggling just to get to the elite 8. You may think I'm exaggerating, but I think any tourney where they don't get to the final 4 is a bad tournament that caps a bad season. And believe it or not, that's the opinion of 90% of UK fans, lol. I'd hate to coach the Wildcats.”

“because UNC chokes too often. And they weren't supposed to do that any more, under Roy. Anyway, how about that Miss St. team? They were my darkhorse... although, I guess they're not really so dark a horse now, being ranked 6th and all.”

“Hey, PWD, don't give up on Roy too soon. He is a good coach who is coaching someone else's team. I think you will see a change in the next two years.
Bill Self is coaching Roy's old team at Kansas. It takes some adjustment time. The Jayhawks and North Carolina could still do some real damage in the NCAA tournament.”

“Big game for Memphis this weekend at Marquette.

A win there, and I think they might start turning heads.”

“Who are the REAL Tigers?”