Official 2009-10 College Basketball Thread

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Speaking of VCU, saw Eric Maynor the other night for the Thunder and he was impressive. Hit a couple 3's and ran the offense well.

Yup. Got traded a few weeks ago. He's really looked pretty good for a rookie guard out of a mid-major school.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Bruce Pearl has tossed Tyler Smith off the Tennessee b-ball team. Felony gun possession and marijuana. Sounds like the resume of a NBA 1st round selection to me.

Where you been? Sportsdigs had this last November

Yeah, he's formally removed from the squad today though. The other three remain suspended indefinitely.

[wade moore]

ahwell jon, having a good team was fun while it lasted, eh?

[MJ4H]

Boy do I know the feeling. Once Arkansas players started getting in trouble last year, the bottom fell out. Might be trying to crawl out of it now, but only signs of life, not really anything concrete.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

ahwell jon, having a good team was fun while it lasted, eh?

Eh, I'm a GT fan too so I'm kind of used to consistent disappointment. Kind of goes with the territory.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Eh, I'm a GT fan too so I'm kind of used to consistent disappointment. Kind of goes with the territory.

Same with me for W&M.

Hopefully this year continues to be different.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The beat goes on. Mizzou didn't play very well, but they still had enough to outlast Kansas State and end their 10-game winning streak. 30 straight wins at home for Mizzou and KSU has now lost in Columbia 24 of the last 26 visits. Good chance to pick up some bonus wins next week with road games at OU and Texas Tech. A split there would be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Good game by the Badgers today as well in knocking Purdue from the ranks of the unbeaten.

[mauchow]

Like Mizzou said, good game from the Badgers.

They took down Purdue as predicted by Sagarin and Pomeroy.

The Badgers bench is what beat the Boilermakers today.

Hughes didn't play much in the first half and that's when Taylor took over the game for the Badgers, he ended up with 23 points.

Leuer struggled, missing every shot in the first half. He contributed four points in the second half. Definitely his worst offensive performance he'll have all year. But he's still the Badgers best player, not most valuable, but their best. Despite the Badgers losing on Wed to the Spartans, I fully expect them to continue to rise in the rankings...but not much.

That three pointer with under a minute to go in the Mizzou game was HUGE. It put them up by three and pretty much ended it.

[Radii]

exciting day of basketball today, Georgia Tech beats Duke at home in addition to the mizzou/K-State and Wisconsin/Purdue games mentioned above.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

Leuer struggled, missing every shot in the first half. He contributed four points in the second half. Definitely his worst offensive performance he'll have all year.

I'm guessing that fall he took early in the game when he tried to put one back didn't help him.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Radii

exciting day of basketball today, Georgia Tech beats Duke at home in addition to the mizzou/K-State and Wisconsin/Purdue games mentioned above.

Yup...hopefully that's a glimpse of what GT can be. Unfortunately, we're less than a week away from the UGA game, which may be a closer approximation to what GT is.

[whomario]

So, Nebraska ... Standhardinger indeed immediately the leader in points on his debut (13 on 4-7 shooting with a 3pointer and adding 4-5 FTs), but as a team they manage a whopping 53 in a 53-64 loss.
Also had 7 boards, not bad for a debut.

Another german, Lucca Staiger (Iowa State) must be breaking some sort of record, his season shooting numbers :

4-5 Fts
2-6 2Pt FGs
42-97 3Pt FGs

I´m basically livid reading his boxscores ... Seriously, the guy is the most talented 2-guard germany produced in 15 years and actually started out as a PG, showed great potential and then blew up his knee and since then is totally one-dimensional. Looked pretty good for our national team as mainly but not exclusively a shooter, had hoped he would grab a bigger Role with Iowa State but aparently their coach has other plans.

[Atocep]

And Notre Dame starts out 7-7 from the field and 4-4 from 3 against WVU. Not much you can do against that.

[Atocep]

WVU cuts a 24 point deficit down to 1 at one point before losing by 2. A combination of not showing up plus Notre Dame not being able to miss in the 1st half was too much to overcome. Not to mention the fact that WVU shot 4 FTs the entire game and just 1 in the 2nd half.....

[MacroGuru]

BYU beats UTEP at El Paso without their best player who was officially diagnosed with Mono and we probably will not see him for at least a month.

[the_meanstrosity]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Agreed. KSU isn't a very good team. Really disappointing to see Dayton lay an egg like that. They'll be fine in the end, but will look back on that game as one they should have easily won.

So you still believe that KSU isn't a very good team?

[the_meanstrosity]

Originally Posted by digamma

Yup...hopefully that's a glimpse of what GT can be. Unfortunately, we're less than a week away from the UGA game, which may be a closer approximation to what GT is.

Georgia gave Kentucky a decent game today especially given the 26 turnovers by Georgia.

[the_meanstrosity]

Oklahoma loses by 31 to Baylor. Baylor looked pretty good in this game and their big man Ekpe Udoh looks tough inside. I have no idea what's gone wrong with the Sooners. They have talented players, but they just aren't putting anything together on the court. Any Sooner insiders know what's going wrong with Capel's club this season?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

BYU beats UTEP at El Paso without their best player who was officially diagnosed with Mono and we probably will not see him for at least a month.

Ugh.

When W&M had a player with Mono a couple of years ago he wasn't the same until the following season. That month ends up being a month of limited workout, limited, practice, etc - it's pretty brutal.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Ugh.

When W&M had a player with Mono a couple of years ago he wasn't the same until the following season. That month ends up being a month of limited workout, limited, practice, etc - it's pretty brutal.

Yeah it depends on the severity of it. When I got it in 8th grade we didn't know how bad it was until I started wrestling and when I was practicing takedowns the pain was so bad it was unbearable, wham it was so severe I missed 6 months of school, it sucked.

So I don't think Jimmer Fredette will be the same this season and I doubt we see a 49 point performance from him like we did against Arizona.

[duckman]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

Oklahoma loses by 31 to Baylor. Baylor looked pretty good in this game and their big man Ekpe Udoh looks tough inside. I have no idea what's gone wrong with the Sooners. They have talented players, but they just aren't putting anything together on the court. Any Sooner insiders know what's going wrong with Capel's club this season?

Their three HS All-Americans still thinks it's still AAU ball. They refuse to show up to practice on time, don't put in work on the defensive end, takes poor shots, and refuses to take a leadership role. Capel has challenged them to step up but they keep fucking up again and again.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

So you still believe that KSU isn't a very good team?

Absolutely. KSU was extremely fortunate to be close in that game today. MU shot themselves in the foot with 15 missed free throws. Also, Pullen was bailed out 4 times where he'd dribble in the lane and shoot after finding a person to run into. Finally, after Anderson tossed aside his coat (very rarely does that happen), the refs finally called a charge when he did it a 5th time.

KSU leads the nation in fouls per game, is in the top 20 in offensive turnovers per possession, and shoots 65% from the line. That's a recipe for losses in a top conference like the Big 12. KSU reflects their coach's demeanor: out of control and undisciplined. The fact that Mizzou was a 4.5 point favorite as an unranked team against a top 10 team tells you that Vegas knows what I've been saying all along.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

BYU beats UTEP at El Paso without their best player who was officially diagnosed with Mono and we probably will not see him for at least a month.

Ugh, not the way I was hoping the renewal of the rivalry would go...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by whomario

So, Nebraska ... Standhardinger indeed immediately the leader in points on his debut (13 on 4-7 shooting with a 3pointer and adding 4-5 FTs), but as a team they manage a whopping 53 in a 53-64 loss.
Also had 7 boards, not bad for a debut.

Another german, Lucca Staiger (Iowa State) must be breaking some sort of record, his season shooting numbers :

4-5 Fts
2-6 2Pt FGs
42-97 3Pt FGs

I´m basically livid reading his boxscores ... Seriously, the guy is the most talented 2-guard germany produced in 15 years and actually started out as a PG, showed great potential and then blew up his knee and since then is totally one-dimensional. Looked pretty good for our national team as mainly but not exclusively a shooter, had hoped he would grab a bigger Role with Iowa State but aparently their coach has other plans.

I watched most of that Nebraska game yesterday just to check out your guy. Offensively, he's got great skills. Pretty impressed with that. On defense, not so much. He was getting pushed all over the court by the A&M big guys and was caught out of position on several occasions. With that said, he's a kid still and it was only his first game, so there's obviously tons of room for growth.

Staiger has been that way as long as I can remember. He wanders the perimeter looking for the long range shot. And he has no problem shooting it out to 25-28 feet. As you mention, his mobility isn't terribly good, but you can't leave him open anywhere on the court. He'll make you pay.

[the_meanstrosity]

Originally Posted by duckman

Their three HS All-Americans still thinks it's still AAU ball. They refuse to show up to practice on time, don't put in work on the defensive end, takes poor shots, and refuses to take a leadership role. Capel has challenged them to step up but they keep fucking up again and again.

Wow, I hadn't heard they were having those kinds of problems. Sounds eerily similar to what Baylor went through last year until they figured out that their season was coming to a close and turned it on in the post-season. The Sooners at least have the excuse of being young, but you would hope the light would go on eventually. I knew the Sooners would struggle early due to their inexperience, but I assumed Capel would have them on the same page come conference play.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I watched most of that Nebraska game yesterday just to check out your guy. Offensively, he's got great skills. Pretty impressed with that. On defense, not so much. He was getting pushed all over the court by the A&M big guys and was caught out of position on several occasions. With that said, he's a kid still and it was only his first game, so there's obviously tons of room for growth.

Staiger has been that way as long as I can remember. He wanders the perimeter looking for the long range shot. And he has no problem shooting it out to 25-28 feet. As you mention, his mobility isn't terribly good, but you can't leave him open anywhere on the court. He'll make you pay.

Well, with Standhardinger the thing is that he´s not a "big guy" and doesn´t project as one down the road. But it´s good he gets to test himself in that area, if he gets passable enough to hold his own enough to stay on the court an score on bigger/slower guys on the other end in return than that´d be real good.
But yeah, defense is going to be a problem for him most nights (doesn´t help to start out in conference play), but the jump from the 2nd german division to Big 12 play is considerable in terms of athleticism.

Thanks for the update

Yeah, Staiger´s shooting ability is amazing. I just hoped he´d rebound better from that injury by now and re-established him as an all-arround scorer as which he started out here in Germany (on the same team as Standhardinger btw) that got him the gig at Iowa St in the first place.
Showed signs of regained athleticism over the summer as well.

[the_meanstrosity]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Absolutely. KSU was extremely fortunate to be close in that game today. MU shot themselves in the foot with 15 missed free throws. Also, Pullen was bailed out 4 times where he'd dribble in the lane and shoot after finding a person to run into. Finally, after Anderson tossed aside his coat (very rarely does that happen), the refs finally called a charge when he did it a 5th time.

KSU leads the nation in fouls per game, is in the top 20 in offensive turnovers per possession, and shoots 65% from the line. That's a recipe for losses in a top conference like the Big 12. KSU reflects their coach's demeanor: out of control and undisciplined. The fact that Mizzou was a 4.5 point favorite as an unranked team against a top 10 team tells you that Vegas knows what I've been saying all along.

I think everybody knew KSU was not a top 10 team. You're not going to get that argument from anyone except a few KSU fans. They beat some quality teams, but their ranking was solely based on beating other teams that were a bit too highly ranked as well (Dayton and UNLV). The fact that Vegas called it a 4.5 point game on the road shows that they believe KSU is a solid squad.

To be honest, Missouri was fortunate it turned into a foul fest. KSU's front court is the stronger of the two teams and having a guy like Curtis Kelly on the bench for all but 9 minutes of the game was a huge blow to KSU. And how you can complain about fouls given the discrepancy of the calls is strange. KSU was called for 32 fouls to MU's 24. Both teams play a very physical and aggressive style of defense. You're going to get called when you play like that. The game pretty much went down like I knew it would though I honestly didn't think KSU would keep it as close as they did tied with under a minute left in the game. I'm guessing MU will fall in Manhattan in late February barring any injuries. Like it or not, KSU is a good squad. They are certainly not top 10 material as their ranking suggested, but Frank Martin has them playing tough, physical basketball.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's halftime in Knoxville, the undermanned Vols & #1 Kansas all tied at 33.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Vols by 7 with 15 mins to go

[JonInMiddleGA]

Vols by 8, just under 7 mins to go

[JonInMiddleGA]

Vols by 5 with 5:44 to go, timeout Tennessee

[JonInMiddleGA]

Kansas tied it, Vols answer with a basket, a steal, and another basket. UT by 4 with 3:15 to go.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Vols by 6 with 2:13 to go, headed to the line for 2 after a steal leads to a foul.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The walk-on Skylar McBee, perhaps the poster child for anything right about the Tennessee basketball program, hits an off-balance three as the shot clock expires to put the Vols up by 6 inside 30 seconds to go.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Un fucking believable

76-68 Vols shock #1 Kansas with only 6 scholarship players & 3 walk-ons.

[wade moore]

Wow.

Totally didn't bother watching the game because I figured it would be a disaster - bitter I didn't know.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Wow.

Totally didn't bother watching the game because I figured it would be a disaster - bitter I didn't know.

Found some short but good post-game celebration video you might enjoy.
Tennessee-Kansas post-game celebration*videos - Rocky Top Talk

Love Kenny Hall's recognition (in the last clip) that it's about the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.

Hard to tell on TV of course but I can't recall hearing a louder men's basketball crowd but once, that was when they beat UK in March 08.

[MizzouRah]

Great time of the year!

[the_meanstrosity]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Un fucking believable

76-68 Vols shock #1 Kansas with only 6 scholarship players & 3 walk-ons.

Great game by the Vols. They could have put their heads down with their recent troubles, but instead played some inspired basketball. Their defense made Kansas look out of sorts on the offensive end.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The walk-on Skylar McBee, perhaps the poster child for anything right about the Tennessee basketball program, hits an off-balance three as the shot clock expires to put the Vols up by 6 inside 30 seconds to go.

That shot was insane. Great job by the Vols, though that doesn't make me like Bruce Pearl any more.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Interesting names at the top of the current home court winning streak list.....

#1 Kansas (51)
#2 Missouri (29)

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

#3 Dayton (28)

Apparently Dayton is actually #4, as there is another team tied (up until Saturday) with Mizzou at 29.

Dayton needed some major good fortune on Saturday to make it 29, as Duquesne was down 1 with 5.1 seconds to go, and had a player fouled in the act of shooting a three, sending him to the line with 3 shots and 3.5 seconds left. He made the first, missed the second, then missed the third after a timeout. Dayton won it fairly easily in overtime to stretch the streak to 29.

Should be an easy road game at Fordham this Wednesday, then a season-definer at Xavier next Saturday morning (odd start time of 11 AM to fit on the ESPN2 schedule). UD fans have been waiting almost 30 years for Dayton to beat Xavier at Xavier. Most fans think this is the year, as Xavier is a little down, but UD has failed to play up to expectations.

I fully expect Dayton to lose, as every time I have mentioned them in this thread, they have looked like crap in the following game. Alas.

[Warhammer]

So wait a minute, could they have a new cheer? Rock chalk, Rocky Top?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

So wait a minute, could they have a new cheer? Rock chalk, Rocky Top?

Nah, the headline was "Rock, Shock, Jayhawk"

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Nah, the headline was "Rock, Shock, Jayhawk"

Rock Choke Chickenhawk is the preferred one around this neck of the woods.

KSU and KU lose while Mizzou wins. A fantastic weekend all around.

[DataKing]

The Jayhawks play this last week is a little concerning to me. After definitely looking like the #1 team in the country a week ago when they dismantled Temple on the road, this is now two consecutive games where Self's team has not looked good. A single loss doesn't bother me...nobody goes undefeated anymore. But the timing could be better. I guess it could be considered a blessing that this happened outside of conference play, but Self this team doesn't have any extra time to figure things out. Their first conference game is Wednesday.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by DataKing

The Jayhawks play this last week is a little concerning to me. After definitely looking like the #1 team in the country a week ago when they dismantled Temple on the road, this is now two consecutive games where Self's team has not looked good. A single loss doesn't bother me...nobody goes undefeated anymore. But the timing could be better. I guess it could be considered a blessing that this happened outside of conference play, but Self this team doesn't have any extra time to figure things out. Their first conference game is Wednesday.

Cornell is a very good team. KU just finally played a team that was road-tested and not rattled by the environment.

I don't think yesterday's result was all that shocking. Those dismissals create a bonding experience for the remaining kids on the squad. KU entered a boiling cauldron of emotion in that arena and it made for a situation with big upset potential.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I don't think yesterday's result was all that shocking. Those dismissals create a bonding experience for the remaining kids on the squad. KU entered a boiling cauldron of emotion in that arena and it made for a situation with big upset potential.

Eh, emotion or not, it's one of the biggest shocks in recent years best I can figure.

There's simply no way, on paper, that you could remotely anticipate beating any #1 ranked team on any floor when you end up with:
-- 3 players notching career high minutes (Woolridge, McBee, Hall)
-- 1 walk-on playing only his 3rd double digit minutes in 3 years/44 total games played (Pearl)
-- a deep reserve guard hitting his first 3 pointer since March 2008 (Bone was with SIU then)

And those players accounted for 102 of the team's 200 combined minutes on the floor.

One of those things, okay, it can happen. Even two of them. But 5 guys coming through like that in the same game? On that kind of stage? Under pressure that really none of them had ever come close to?

No way that can't be a shock.

[rjolley]

Is Woolridge the son of Orlando Woolridge? Is Pearl the coach's son?

[cartman]

Texas men's basketball is ranked #1 for the first time in team history. But being ranked #1 right now doesn't mean squat compared to being ranked #1 on April 6th.

[DataKing]

Unlike football, top 25 rankings don't mean squat in hoops.