2017-2018 College Basketball Thread

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Not sure what the administration is looking for as far as results from the team.

They were pretty clear about it in the announcement of the firing: they want to make the NCAA tournament (on a somewhat regular basis seemed to go without saying).

Your aspirations have to be that you can get to the NCAAs every year. That’s what we want.”

Reportedly the coach was told before the season that "we want to be(come) Gonzaga" and the coach reportedly nearly resigned then since without 8 figure spending increase he didn't think that was going to happen.

I mean, if that's the goal, maybe they have a point here. Yes, the guy won 225 games there ... but all that got them was a single NCAA appearance a decade ago. And since they've been to the tournament, five other teams in their current conference and five other teams from their former conference have made it at least once, three of those winning games.

Just getting 20whatever wins in a lower tier conference really isn't the sort of impact that even a single NCAA appearance can be, and I'd say that's what they're looking for, especially with a relatively new 78 million dollar arena that's routinely less than half filled.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by tarcone

He really hurt Iowa. I thought it was a great hire. But he is a hypocrite and a sham. I was glad we fired him.

What makes him look so good? He must be a great kiss ass.

When we hired him, our AD thought he had hired a great up and coming ccoach. He didn't even know who Pierre Pierce was or about the incident. Alford will be fired in the next 12 months and it will be the 7th coach the AD has had to fire in the big 2. Everyone talks about UCLA having unrealistic expectations, but we always give our coaches way more time than any other program does. On March 1st, he got a retention bonus of 700k.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Reportedly the coach was told before the season that "we want to be(come) Gonzaga"

There are only a Few guys out there that can make that happen.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

They were pretty clear about it in the announcement of the firing: they want to make the NCAA tournament (on a somewhat regular basis seemed to go without saying).

Ah, didn't see that. There's definitely talent in the state and they had talent on the team. I guess it's possible they could become a force. Maybe they could be a new starting point for Pitino or Tubby Smith.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Maybe they could be a new starting point for Pitino or Tubby Smith.

Tubby already back to his alma mater (High Point)

[muns]

Originally Posted by Butter

Chris Mack to Louisville.

Jeff Capel to Pitt.

Tubby Smith to High Point.

Beyond excited about Capel. He will be the best recruiter we have ever had, and while he wont be bringing in top 5 talent like he did at Duke, he at least gives us chances to bring in a few top 50-75 kids. After what I thought Pitt was going to settle for, this was an amazing hire.

[muns]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Tubby already back to his alma mater (High Point)

I think this hire is going to be interesting as well. High Point (school wise) is quite literally a hotel/ all inclusive resort for students. They have butlers and people that do the kids laundry and crap.

While they aren't a major D-1 program, the amenities the school provides is already a giant step up from other schools, and when you get a proven guy that can coach in there, I think HP has a shot at being a real up and comer. Looking forward to seeing what Tubby can do there without being screwed over.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Tubby already back to his alma mater (High Point)

Ok, yeah, I'm going to stop commenting on college basketball for this season. My brackets should've told me I don't need to say anything.

[digamma]

The interesting thing about the Capel hire is the Coach K line of succession. I had read speculation that Capel had returned to Duke to try to groom himself for that spot. Interesting timing with K at 71 for him to take another gig. Maybe he's not a real candidate. My guess is that people like Brey, Wojo, Amaker, Collins and maybe Hurley were pretty pleased to see Capel take that job.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by digamma

The interesting thing about the Capel hire is the Coach K line of succession. I had read speculation that Capel had returned to Duke to try to groom himself for that spot. Interesting timing with K at 71 for him to take another gig. Maybe he's not a real candidate. My guess is that people like Brey, Wojo, Amaker, Collins and maybe Hurley were pretty pleased to see Capel take that job.

Quin Snyder too.

[Arles]

I can't see Snyder leaving the NBA. What he's done with Utah is very impressive. He's considered one of the top 5-6 coaches right now.

[stevew]

Who knows if Zion Williamson will be any sort of pro player(isn't he a 6'5" power forward) but I sure hope that gruesome thumb injury doesn't effect his ability to dunk.

[Logan]

If you're Tony Bennett, and you get the call that the AP voted you Coach of the Year...how much do you want to tell them to give the award to the runner-up?

[Logan]

McDonald's All American Darius Bazley decommits from Syracuse and will go straight to the G League.

High school-to-G League prospect Darius Bazley ready to blaze new path

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Logan

McDonald's All American Darius Bazley decommits from Syracuse and will go straight to the G League.

High school-to-G League prospect Darius Bazley ready to blaze new path

Yeah, maybe he did not want to play in front of crowds or play on TV or compete in the ACC.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Logan

McDonald's All American Darius Bazley decommits from Syracuse and will go straight to the G League.

High school-to-G League prospect Darius Bazley ready to blaze new path

This is smart. Take the money. No use going to a university when you ain't going to class.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Logan

McDonald's All American Darius Bazley decommits from Syracuse and will go straight to the G League.

High school-to-G League prospect Darius Bazley ready to blaze new path

He'll probably get a small shoe deal to offset this, there's no way he left just for the G-League money. Even $100k above board plus whatever he's getting on his G-League team would be better than a year of college, even if he's under the radar the whole time.

[molson]

The college for a year thing is so dumb, I hope many more do this.

Of course, it would have been nice if he figured this out a BIT earlier, but Syracuse knew that they were signing a flake who had already de-committed from Ohio State. He may change his mind again and end up China.

[Young Drachma]

Illinois-Chicago v. Northern Colorado in the CIT Final.
San Francisco v. North Texas in the CBI Final Game 3.

Both games on tonight.

[mauchow]

Wow Loyola fell apart quickly in the final 10 minutes.. Too bad.

[Brian Swartz]

I feel badly for Loyola-Chicago. When you've got an opportunity like that and have the opponent on the ropes only to have the wheels come off ... it's one of the worst feelings there is.

[bhlloy]

Yeah, that is a brutal end to a good story. If they’d have just got blown out from the tip-off everyone is talking about how well they’ve done, but those kids look absolutely broken.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I turned it on while they were still up four; they kept talking about the turnovers and not making a basket (which were certainly an issue) but it looked to me like the defense was what killed them. In Michigan's last 20 or so possessions it seems like they only failed to score on one of them.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't think the defense changed much though. Part of it was Michigan shooting regressing(or improving) in this case to the mean; they're a better shooting team than they showed early on. A bigger part was Wagner though and just the fact that they had to double and when they did he made the right play most of the time. That drag dribble where he was posted on the right block, dribbled out to the three-point corner and then drained it when the defenders tried to cover the cutters ... it was just a checkmate. No way to cover everything. From my POV Michigan just started executing better, partly because of increased confidence from the turnovers they were getting.

[Groundhog]

I think it was my fault. I had the game on in the background while doing stuff around the house, and literally every time I watched Michigan would make a run, including the last 5 mins of the game.

[JPhillips]

Good luck, UM. Villanova looks really good.

[NobodyHere]

I should've made a bracket, with my tendency to pick favorites I would've had Michigan going all the way.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I don't think the defense changed much though. Part of it was Michigan shooting regressing(or improving) in this case to the mean; they're a better shooting team than they showed early on. A bigger part was Wagner though and just the fact that they had to double and when they did he made the right play most of the time. That drag dribble where he was posted on the right block, dribbled out to the three-point corner and then drained it when the defenders tried to cover the cutters ... it was just a checkmate. No way to cover everything. From my POV Michigan just started executing better, partly because of increased confidence from the turnovers they were getting.

True; I hadn't watched the whole game so I wasn't able to see any transition. But yeah, they seemed completely unable to defend Michigan. Combine that with the sloppy turnovers and incredible defense by the Wolverines, and it was game over.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Good luck, UM. Villanova looks really good.

No argument here. Michigan's better on defense than Kansas, particularly on the perimeter -- but their cold stretches offensively will very likely be fatal against the Nova machine. They need to light it up like they did against Texas A&M or catch Villanova in a cold start; say the opposite of what they did today. If they shoot like this, you shake their hands and congratulate them .

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Butter

If I get Michigan, Nova, and Kansas to the Final 4 with a Final where Nova beats Michigan, I will win my pool and several hundred dollars.

Now that Clemson is out, that's what i need.

IT IS STILL HAPPENING

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Butter

IT IS STILL HAPPENING

To hate or not to hate, that is the question

[Brian Swartz]

Odds opened at 6.5 points for Villanova. Largest spread since Duke-Butler in 2010.

[MizzouRah]

Is it just me or did Michigan quietly sneak into the final?

[Young Drachma]

So does Porter Moser stay at Loyola-Chicago?

Does Loyola-Chicago stay in the MVC after next year? They have one scholarship available, one should think they could cash that in on a better transfer player than they'd have been able to a month ago.

[tarcone]

Go Michigan

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Is it just me or did Michigan quietly sneak into the final?

Well, they had the miracle win vs Houston... who also happened to be the highest seed Michigan has beaten. Played a 14, 6, 7, 9, 11 to get to the final. Their one game they really looked good was vs Texas A&M, who has been so inconsistent this year I had the feeling it was as much the Aggies playing back down to their level after their best game of the year vs UNC the round before.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Well, they had the miracle win vs Houston... who also happened to be the highest seed Michigan has beaten. Played a 14, 6, 7, 9, 11 to get to the final. Their one game they really looked good was vs Texas A&M, who has been so inconsistent this year I had the feeling it was as much the Aggies playing back down to their level after their best game of the year vs UNC the round before.

And they were down by double-digits in the second half against #11 Loyola. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion, but a Villanova blowout wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Well, they had the miracle win vs Houston... who also happened to be the highest seed Michigan has beaten. Played a 14, 6, 7, 9, 11 to get to the final. Their one game they really looked good was vs Texas A&M, who has been so inconsistent this year I had the feeling it was as much the Aggies playing back down to their level after their best game of the year vs UNC the round before.

It just seems like it's been a long time since Michigan did something in the tournament and up until the final four, I really hadn't paid much attention to them. Silly me!

[miami_fan]

Luck. Of. The. Irish!

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Well, they had the miracle win vs Houston... who also happened to be the highest seed Michigan has beaten. Played a 14, 6, 7, 9, 11 to get to the final.

I am from Michigan, but I don't think this is really bias speaking; I've made similar arguments in favor of not-homer teams in the past. I don't really understand why this 'weak draw' stuff gets thrown out(or at least it seems to me that's what's being said here). They beat a 2(Purdue, before the injury) and a 3(Michigan State) in the Big Ten tournament to win the conference first of all. But more importantly, the 9(for example) was Florida State who beat a 1 and a 4. It seems in those kinds of scenarios, the 9 isn't a typical 9, and is a win that should be valued higher than just the seed number. I've never understood why, in so many situations, beating a team that beat a higher-ranking one is considered to be a smaller achievement than beating the higher-ranking foe that clearly wasn't playing as well.

I do expect Villanova to win the game, but I think the argument for them doing so is that they have a more balanced, deep, and explosive team, and they've been clearly the better team in every matchup they've had so far. Who each team played along the way barely registers as relevant IMO. The previously mentioned Duke-Butler game several years ago was supposed to be one-sided, but it wasn't; it was decided by two points. This may not be that close at all but I just always fine this train of thought to be (unintentionally) disrepectfull to the lower seeds who pulled off those upsets.

[Young Drachma]

Women's Final Four was great.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

It just seems like it's been a long time since Michigan did something in the tournament and up until the final four, I really hadn't paid much attention to them. Silly me!

Hey, according to the NCAA this game never happened!

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I am from Michigan, but I don't think this is really bias speaking; I've made similar arguments in favor of not-homer teams in the past. I don't really understand why this 'weak draw' stuff gets thrown out(or at least it seems to me that's what's being said here). They beat a 2(Purdue, before the injury) and a 3(Michigan State) in the Big Ten tournament to win the conference first of all. But more importantly, the 9(for example) was Florida State who beat a 1 and a 4. It seems in those kinds of scenarios, the 9 isn't a typical 9, and is a win that should be valued higher than just the seed number. I've never understood why, in so many situations, beating a team that beat a higher-ranking one is considered to be a smaller achievement than beating the higher-ranking foe that clearly wasn't playing as well.

I do expect Villanova to win the game, but I think the argument for them doing so is that they have a more balanced, deep, and explosive team, and they've been clearly the better team in every matchup they've had so far. Who each team played along the way barely registers as relevant IMO. The previously mentioned Duke-Butler game several years ago was supposed to be one-sided, but it wasn't; it was decided by two points. This may not be that close at all but I just always fine this train of thought to be (unintentionally) disrepectfull to the lower seeds who pulled off those upsets.

I wasn't arguing they weren't deserving, I was keying off the "quietly" part... and other than Houston none of their games got much publicity. Even last night the 2nd game was the heavyweight matchup (though it didn't play out that way), and much of the attention in the lead up to Michigan's game was focused on the Cinderella team. I couldn't care less who each team beats along the way, you can only play the teams in front of you.

For the actual game, clearly Michigan has no chance if Villanova shoots like they did vs Kansas, but if Villanova is missing some shots, sure I think their style gives them a chance vs anyone.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Women's Final Four was great.

Seconded

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Butter

If I get Michigan, Nova, and Kansas to the Final 4 with a Final where Nova beats Michigan, I will win my pool and several hundred dollars.

Now that Clemson is out, that's what i need.

Looking promising for you.

[EagleFan]

Was it 21-14 at one point for Michigan? They flipped a switch and went off. Holy crap.

[jbergey22]

Best team won it despite all of the madness this year. Congrats to Villanova. Jay Wright has done some amazing things with that program.

[Brian Swartz]

Yep. Michigan needed a better shooting night and they needed to avoid Donte's inferno. Had the right gameplan but against that kind of long-range attack a lot more things had to go right than did. Haven't seen a team as dominant overall in the tournament as Villanova in quite a while -- very impressive display.

[Kodos]

Can someone explain to me how the Yahoo March Madness tiebreaker works? My pool had a tie for first place, so it came down to the final score from last night (79-62). I'm not one of the people in the tie.

Person 1 had 68-65 as their score. Person 2 had 85-65. To me, it seems like Person 2 should have won, but the pool has Person 1 rated higher. How does that work?

Edit: Nevermind.

Actual score 79+62=141
68+65=133 (8 off)
85+65=150 (9 off)