Official 2011-12 College Basketball Thread

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Ok, I'm going to have to go to sleep now but we're not looking bad at the half. It's a sloppy, early season game but KU has looked like the better team. They're not as talented, I don't think but UK has that really young and sloppy look. They have more room to grow as the season progresses while I don't see a ton of young guys that are going to improve a lot with Kansas.

SI

You will not wake up happy...

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

UCLA = Bad

yeah, pretty horrible.

[RedKingGold]

Nova squeaks by La Salle in overtime at the Pavilion. I can't decide whether this Nova team is good or not. Theoretically, they should be better than last year without ball-hog Corey Fisher and with Yarou, Cheek and Wayns another year older.

The X-Factor is still JayVaughn Pinkson. If he can fulfill his potential and stay out of trouble - he was suspended for pretty much all of last year after an assault - he could be the guy that pushes this team to Big East title contention.

More likely, however, I see Nova as a 20-10 record team with a second round or Sweet 16 NCAA exit.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Lathum

You will not wake up happy...

I suppose not. But it wasn't unsurprising and I can't get too upset about game 3 of the season, particularly when it's a 10 point loss to a Final Four contender. MBBF hit the nail right on the head- there are a lot of really rough pieces around one true stud (Robinson) and another nice player in Taylor. We're in for a longer year than we're used to and I think it's fairly likely our Big XII title streak ends but we're still NCAA tourney bound. It'll be good for some of the fan base that just took for granted we had an awesome team and was used to taking that for granted ("what? we didn't make the final four because of a fluke loss in the tourney? fire self!")

SI

[dave731]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I suppose not. But it wasn't unsurprising and I can't get too upset about game 3 of the season, particularly when it's a 10 point loss to a Final Four contender. MBBF hit the nail right on the head- there are a lot of really rough pieces around one true stud (Robinson) and another nice player in Taylor. We're in for a longer year than we're used to and I think it's fairly likely our Big XII title streak ends but we're still NCAA tourney bound. It'll be good for some of the fan base that just took for granted we had an awesome team and was used to taking that for granted ("what? we didn't make the final four because of a fluke loss in the tourney? fire self!")

SI

I can remember some fans wanting to fire Roy Williams for not winning it all when he was at KU. Yep...fire the coach with the highest winning pct. in Division I since he took the job at Kansas?! Fans don't understand how hard it is to win it all...especially in basketball. You can play a mediocre team where one or two guys rise to the occasion and play like Larry Bird or Magic Johnson and then you're heading home.

This Kansas team will be in full rebuild mode for most of the season. I would look to see what the team is doing in early January to see what kind of run we are going to put together in the tourney. Taylor was trying to do it all last night and KU can't rely on that to win games against quality opponents. I also didn't see Kansas go inside as much as I'd have liked but that may have been due to Kentucky's defense moreso than anything else. I wish the players that declared would have known about the lockout. Imagine having the Morris twins and Selby back for this year! Sigh...

[jbergey22]

I was expecting a fall from Kansas last year and they were once again a top 5 team. They seem to find a way with these kids that are finally getting their chance. Ive counted them out too many times to think they wont be a top 10 team like always this year.

Who in the Big 12 is expected to be better than them? Baylor has A LOT of talent but the coaching will mess it up(also I expect their PG issues to become a problem), Mizzou is Mizzou, Texas is young.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by dave731

I can remember some fans wanting to fire Roy Williams for not winning it all when he was at KU. Yep...fire the coach with the highest winning pct. in Division I since he took the job at Kansas?! Fans don't understand how hard it is to win it all...especially in basketball. You can play a mediocre team where one or two guys rise to the occasion and play like Larry Bird or Magic Johnson and then you're heading home.

This Kansas team will be in full rebuild mode for most of the season. I would look to see what the team is doing in early January to see what kind of run we are going to put together in the tourney. Taylor was trying to do it all last night and KU can't rely on that to win games against quality opponents. I also didn't see Kansas go inside as much as I'd have liked but that may have been due to Kentucky's defense moreso than anything else. I wish the players that declared would have known about the lockout. Imagine having the Morris twins and Selby back for this year! Sigh...

Damn you, Ali Farokhmanesh!

Yeah, that team would have been awesome. National title contender for sure- old, experienced, deep, and talented.

That said, if I'm playing Kansas this year, I collapse 3 guys down low to drown out Robinson and make the guards beat you off the perimeter. Tyshawn Taylor seems to me like a poor man's Keith Langford- not as good at driving maybe a little better shooter. If that's the second best player on your team, you're just not going to be an elite team. That formula is going to make for some nights where we badly struggle for offense. That said, the team is still long, like most Bill Self teams, and defense will keep us in the game most nights.

Maui should be a nice barometer for the team. Georgetown should make for a good test- unraked but usually a good squad. Hopefully we can win that and try out the championship side of the bracket. UCLA and Chaminade aren't looking too difficult this year, but who knows. And then another game against a quality ranked team (or Tennessee who would have beaten some ranked teams to get there and thus would be ranked after).

SI

[jbergey22]

I thought Memphis looked great yesterday. All of them athletes learned to shoot over the summer. I dont see anyone in cUSA touching them. Beating up on Belmont is no small feat.

[Butter]

Good Lord, UCLA... losing to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State at home to start the season? I expected better of you.

The arena was empty last night too, so is there something going on there I don't know about?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Maui should be a nice barometer for the team. Georgetown should make for a good test- unraked but usually a good squad.

Georgetown and my yard have something in common.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Good Lord, UCLA... losing to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State at home to start the season? I expected better of you.

The arena was empty last night too, so is there something going on there I don't know about?

Their best player(Reeves Nelson) was suspended for 'conduct detrimental to the team.' Some extreme chemistry issues would be my guess.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I was expecting a fall from Kansas last year and they were once again a top 5 team. They seem to find a way with these kids that are finally getting their chance. Ive counted them out too many times to think they wont be a top 10 team like always this year.

Who in the Big 12 is expected to be better than them? Baylor has A LOT of talent but the coaching will mess it up(also I expect their PG issues to become a problem), Mizzou is Mizzou, Texas is young.

Yeah, I'd agree with you. KU is still the favorite unless they prove otherwise. Most of it depends on how KU plays on the road. They're going to go 8-1 at home at a minimum.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Georgetown and my yard have something in common.

Tall with lots of grass?
White and covered in snow?
Cold and dying?
Poorly manicured?
Smells like dog poo?
Gets stepped on a lot?
Has a dinosaur living in it?

I need a little help here! I'm not very bright!

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Was amazed to look at the UCLA box score and see that UCLA took 18 more shots than Middle Tenn. St. and STILL lost. They also took five more free throws than MTSU.

I would note that likely no one knows about LaRon Dendy outside of the Big 12, but he's a helluva player. It was a big loss when he transferred away from Iowa State to MTSU.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm attending the next two games at Pitt (against Long Beach State and La Salle). I'm really excited to see the Oakland Zoo in action. I've never been to a Pitt basketball game before. Because I live in the general area and know a lot of Pitt alumni, I've become a bit of a Pitt fan, so Let's Go Pitt!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Nova squeaks by La Salle in overtime at the Pavilion. I can't decide whether this Nova team is good or not. Theoretically, they should be better than last year without ball-hog Corey Fisher and with Yarou, Cheek and Wayns another year older.

The X-Factor is still JayVaughn Pinkson. If he can fulfill his potential and stay out of trouble - he was suspended for pretty much all of last year after an assault - he could be the guy that pushes this team to Big East title contention.

More likely, however, I see Nova as a 20-10 record team with a second round or Sweet 16 NCAA exit.

Looking forward to the Mizzou-Nova game in a couple weeks. Good test for our guys on a neutral court.

[Izulde]

UNLV now 2-0 after beating UNR 71-67 last night. Big lead for most of the game and held the Wolfpack to 32% shooting overall, but allowed them back in it late in the game, and frankly could've very well lost. Would've pissed me off, too, because I hate losing to UNR in any sport, let alone basketball.

Justin Hawkins, who looked good in flashes last year, has been hot to start the season. 28 points against Grand Canyon in the opener and the team's leading scorer last night with 13 points.

Still very much concerned about the post game, especially with Carlos Lopez battling an ankle injury.

New staff and new system, so it's still too early to draw any real conclusions, although IMO there's a lot of work that needs to be done. Mountain West seems down this season compared to last year, so I'm guessing we should be able to win the conference. At the very least, an NCAA bid should be a lock. I don't see us getting any further than maybe the Sweet 16, though. Even that would be an improvement over the plateau effect we had with Kruger's last few seasons.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Georgetown and my yard have something in common.

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Maui should be a nice barometer for the team. Georgetown should make for a good test- unraked

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I need a little help here! I'm not very bright!

You just made a simple typo, and I was just being a dick. Nothing major.

[sterlingice]

And I was bright enough to miss it twice, even. D'oh

SI

[Pumpy Tudors]

I think Pitt is going to ban me from all of their basketball games now. The first time I attend a Pitt game, their 58-game non-conference home winning streak gets snapped. We'll see if they let me into the building next Tuesday when I try to attend their game against La Salle.

[Matthean]

Michigan tied with Western Illinois at half.

[tarcone]

Iowa has scored 96, 95, and 88. Yes, it is against weak competition. But these are not your Hawks of years past.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Michigan tied with Western Illinois at half.

Ends up being a 4 point win for Michigan. Maui tourney is next, but right now Michigan looks like a long was away from NCAA tourney ready.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I think Pitt is going to ban me from all of their basketball games now. The first time I attend a Pitt game, their 58-game non-conference home winning streak gets snapped. We'll see if they let me into the building next Tuesday when I try to attend their game against La Salle.

Next game against WVU at Pitt is on me.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Next game against WVU at Pitt is on me.

I say we chip in and get him season tickets for football and basketball.

[Izulde]

Routed Canisius 95-70. And damned if Mike Moser isn't looking the answer to my concerns about our post game. 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks. We're 3-0 right now and Moser's first three games:

Grand Canyon - 16 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
UNR - 8 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 blocks
Canisius - 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Granted he's had 3 turnovers in every single game so far but he's looking much more polished than I thought he would. I know a lot of people were high on his potential, but I thought it'd be another year before he broke out.

Maybe the time is now.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Ends up being a 4 point win for Michigan. Maui tourney is next, but right now Michigan looks like a long was away from NCAA tourney ready.

Considering my beloved Dayton Flyers beat Western Illinois by 32 in our home opener, then promptly went on the road and lost to Miami (O.), I would be worried if I were you. Very worried.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Mizzou finally got through their warm-up games last night, beating Niagara. Awfully please with what we've seen of the four-guard offense thus far. If Kim English continues to play this well at the 4 spot, we're going to be better than I anticipated.

Next up is the semis and final of the tourney in KC. We have Notre Dame on Monday night and then play Georgia or Cal the next night. Got seats for both nights 10 rows from the floor. Excited to get out and see some good games for a couple nights!

[wade moore]

Mizzou is going to abuse W&M .

[cartman]

Wow, another plane related tragedy for Oklahoma State. Their women's basketball coach and an assistant were killed in a plane crash in Arkansas.

[MJ4H]

I really hope the rumors I'm hearing on hogville this morning aren't true, but they probably are.

[cartman]

Care to expound?

[MJ4H]

Marshawn Powell tore his ACL and it out for the season is the rumor. Still just a rumor. Absolutely nothing substantial.

[digamma]

Pretty excited about going to the Harvard-Loyola Marymount game tomorrow.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Marshawn Powell tore his ACL and it out for the season is the rumor. Still just a rumor. Absolutely nothing substantial.

Definitely hurt and out for tonight, but apparently the players are on info lockdown, not even allowed on twitter, etc. Probably a bad sign. Supposedly they are waiting on the results of an MRI, but they already know it's a season-ender.

Pardon me while I curse like a sailor.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Definitely hurt and out for tonight, but apparently the players are on info lockdown, not even allowed on twitter, etc. Probably a bad sign. Supposedly they are waiting on the results of an MRI, but they already know it's a season-ender.

Pardon me while I curse like a sailor.

I finally got a chance to watch Arkansas tonight. I have to admit it was pretty frightening to watch. For all the good things that the pressure game provides, the detractors pointed out the losses Anderson had at Mizzou where average teams came in and got easy baskets and offensive rebound putbacks at key points in the game that repeatedly killed us.

Watching that Arkansas game tonight was like a bad nightmare I've lived before. When that Arkansas defense got fired up at key moments, they heavily overplayed the ball and gave up a lot of key offensive rebounds. They also got caught on ball rotation and left the back side wide open.

Obviously the Powell injury hurt, but what happened tonight was a common thing in his last season at Mizzou.

[Lathum]

sigh. Romar schedules Washington to go to St. Louis so that Scott Suggs can play in front of family and friends. Turns out Suggs is out with a toe injury and the game starts at 9 AM PST and we come out and can't throw the ball in the ocean. Epic fail so far.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by digamma

Pretty excited about going to the Harvard-Loyola Marymount game tomorrow.

Harvard wins 77-67. Looked very good at times and just so-so at times. We aren't the borderline top 25 team some pundits are saying, but we should easily win the Ivy League and get to the dance. There is no one in the league that will be able to stop Kyle Casey and Keith Wright.

The next two weeks are interesting. The Battle of Atlantis next week includes Utah, FSU and UConn. Then we have an away game at UConn the first week of December.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by digamma

Harvard wins 77-67. Looked very good at times and just so-so at times. We aren't the borderline top 25 team some pundits are saying, but we should easily win the Ivy League and get to the dance. There is no one in the league that will be able to stop Kyle Casey and Keith Wright.

The next two weeks are interesting. The Battle of Atlantis next week includes Utah, FSU and UConn. Then we have an away game at UConn the first week of December.

Glad you got to see a win. Would love to see Harvard make noise outside of the Ivy.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The bad news? Texas lost to Oregon St.

The good news? No one was able to watch it. It was on the Longhorn Network.

[dawgfan]

The Pac-12 is all over the place right now.

[tarcone]

Reality check for Iowa. Creighton spanked us. We couldnt make a basket and they didnt miss much.

[dawgfan]

2011 5-star SG prospect Jabari Brown has left Oregon after just 2 games.

[cartman]

For the 2nd consecutive week, J'Covan Brown was named Big 12 player of the week. He is gonna have to carry the load while all of the freshmen get accustomed to playing college ball. The Horns have 9 scholarship players, 6 of them are true freshmen.

[DeToxRox]

Michigan and Memphis just tipped off on the deuce.

[Matthean]

Michigan up 37-31 at the half. Hello offense, nice to meet you. Maybe you can stick around. The fact that Michigan is beating anybody by 10 on the boards is just amazing.

[DeToxRox]

Is Josh Pastner the worst X's and O's coach in hoops? Does Memphis have an offensive game plan besides be more athletic than the other team? Memphis is going to obviously win games and probably win this game today, but as a game coach Pastner seems like the absolute worst.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Is Josh Pastner the worst X's and O's coach in hoops? Does Memphis have an offensive game plan besides be more athletic than the other team? Memphis is going to obviously win games and probably win this game today, but as a game coach Pastner seems like the absolute worst.

Drive and kick is the offense. It was laughable last year some games when they didnt have much for shooting.

[Warhammer]

A lot of this game depends on how the officiating goes. If UM can play Big 10 defense, Memphis will get frustrated. Memphis' big problem is their depth down low. That's why Michigan is getting to the boards.